Steelers draw five prime-time games

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 p.m. (NBC/WPXI-TV)          

Week 3 (Sat., Aug. 25)........ at Buffalo..............................7 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)

Sunday, Sept. 9................. at Denver..................................8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Sept. 16............... N.Y. Jets..................................4:15 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Sept. 23............... at Oakland.................................4:15 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Sept. 30............... Bye

Sunday, Oct. 7.................. Philadelphia.............................1 p.m. (FOX)

Thursday, Oct. 11............... at Tennessee.............................8:20 p.m. (NFL Network)

Sunday, Oct. 21................. at Cincinnati...............................8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Oct. 28................. Washington.............................1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Nov. 4.................. at N.Y. Giants.............................4:15 p.m. (CBS)

Monday, Nov. 12............... Kansas City..............................8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, Nov. 18*............... Baltimore.................................8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Nov. 25*............... at Cleveland...............................1 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Dec. 2*................. at Baltimore...............................4:15 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Dec. 9*................. San Diego................................1 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Dec. 16*............... at Dallas.....................................4:15 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Dec. 23*............... Cincinnati................................1 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Dec. 30*............... Cleveland.................................1 p.m. (CBS)

* Times and TV network may change due to flexible scheduling

** All times are Eastern

Steelers unveil new throwbacks

The Steelers revealed on Tuesday the new throwback uniforms for their 80th anniversary celebration.

The uniforms are from the Steelers 1934 season and will be worn twice this year.

Here's a look at them.

Steelers updated visit list

Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams
Miami (Ohio) guard Brandon Brooks
Ole Miss offensive tackle Bobby Massie
Midwestern State guard Amini Silatolu
Oregon running back LaMichael James
Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead
Colorado wide receiver Toney Clemons
Florida International wide receiver T.Y. Hilton
Missouri tight end Michael Egnew

Oregon tight end David Paulson

Louisiana-Lafayette tight end Ladarius Green
BYU defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo
Regina defensive tackle Akiem Hicks
Virginia defensive end Cam Johnson

Miami defensive end Olivier Vernon
Cincinnati defensive end Derek Wolfe

USC defensive linebacker Nick Perry
Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower
Alabama linebacker Jerrell Harris
California linebacker Mychal Kendricks
Wayne State defensive back Jeremy Jones
West Virginia cornerback Keith Tandy
Stanford long snapper Zach Nolan

Steelers have busy two days

The Steelers have had a busy couple of days, signing tight end Leonard Pope on Tuesday to a one-year deal and bringing back wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery on Wednesday with a two-year deal.

It's a typical Steelers move as they prepare for the draft.

Pittsburgh never likes to go into a draft with obvious needs and tight end and wide receiver were looking like obvious needs with just a couple of weeks remaining before the draft.

They are now not quite so pressing.

Are their other needs? Sure. Another guard or two - or possibly a tackle - would certainly be of some use. So would an inside linebacker and young quarterback to groom as a No. 2 behind Ben Roethlisberger.

But tight end and wide receiver are now way down the list.

© Cotchery signed a two-year deal worth $3 million, a pretty bargain basement price.

It was a prudent move to sign Cotchery for two years.

With Mike Wallace looking like he's not going to sign his tender offer - why would he and lose all of his bargaining power? - and both Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders scheduled to be restricted free agents at the end of the 2012 season, having Cotchery locked up for the next two season at least gives the Steelers one veteran under contract for those two seasons.

Do I expect Wallace or Brown to go anywhere? No. But it will be awfully difficult for the Steelers to keep Wallace, Brown and Sanders long term. And signing Cotchery to a two-year deal means the Steelers can bring a young receiver along slowly.

Mock Draft II

Here's round two of my pre-draft mock. More information is trickling in, and there have also been some free agent signings in the past week that will change things.

1. Indianapolis - Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Washington - Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor
3. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
4. Clevland - Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
5. Tampa Bay - Matt Kalil, OT, USC
6. St. Louis - Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
7. Jacksonville - Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
8. Miami - Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
9. Carolina - Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi St.
10. Buffalo - Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
11.  Kansas City - David DeCastro, G, Stanford
12. Seattle - Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
13. Arizona - Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
14. Dallas - Mark Barron, SS, Alabama
15. Philadelphia - Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
16. N.Y. Jets  - Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
17. Cincinnati - Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
18. San Diego - Courtney Upshaw, LB, Alabama
19. Chicago - Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
20. Tennessee - Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
21. Cincinnati - Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia
22. Clevleand - Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
23. Detroit - Nick Perry, DE, USC
24. Pittsburgh - Kevin Zeitler, G, Wisconsin
25. Denver - Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
26. Houston - Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
27. New England - Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
28. Green Bay - Shea McClellin, OLB, Boise State
29. Baltimore - Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
30. San Francisco - Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
31. New England - Chandler Jones, DE/LB, Syracuse
32. N.Y. Giants - Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State



Fleener might have been on the Steelers' radar but on Tuesday, they signed free agent tight end Leonard Pope, who gives them a solid backup to Heath Miller.

Steelers visits thus far

Here's a list of players who have visited the Steelers thus far. Obviously, the team has 30 total players it can bring in, so this list is incomplete at this point. But there are still more than two weeks remaining before the draft.

Some of the visits will be to check on medical status, such as receiver T.Y. Hilton. Some will be smokescreens - in my opinion Mike Adams falls into this category. Others still will be players in which the Steelers have actual interest, such as Isaiah Pead.

Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams
Ole Miss offensive tackle Bobby Massie 
Miami (Ohio) guard Brandon Brooks
Colorado receiver Toney Clemons
Alabama linebacker Jerrell Harris
Regina defensive tackle Akiem Hicks
Cincinnati defensive end Derek Wolfe
Virginia defensive end Cam Johnson
West Virginia cornerback Keith Tandy 
Florida International receiver T.Y. Hilton
Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead 
Stanford long snapper Zach Nolan

First mock draft

Now that April is finally here, it's time to start doing some mock drafts. Here's the first of what will be at least three that I do before the draft.

1.       Indianapolis - Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2.       Washington (from St. Louis) - Robert Griffin, Baylor

3.       Minnesota - Matt Kalil, OT, USC

4.       Cleveland - Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

5.       Tampa Bay -  Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

6.       St. Louis (from Washington) – Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

7.       Jacksonville – Quinton Couples, DE, North Carolina

8.       Miami – Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M

9.       Carolina - Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

10.   Buffalo - Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa

11.   Kansas City – Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis

12.   Seattle - David Decastro, G, Stanford

13.   Arizona – Melvin Ingram, LB, South Carolina

14.   Dallas – Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

15.   Philadelphia – Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

16.   N.Y. Jets – Courtney Upshaw, LB, Alabama

17.   Cincinnati  (from Oakland) – Cordy Glenn, OT/G, Georgia

18.   San Diego – Fletcher Cox, DE, Mississippi State

19.   Chicago – Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois

20.   Tennessee – Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

21.   Cincinnati – Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

22.   Cleveland (from Atlanta)  – Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

23.   Detroit – Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

24.   Pittsburgh - Donta’ Hightower, LB, Alabama

25.   Denver – Devon Still, DT, Penn State

26.   Houston – Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

27.   New England (from New Orleans) – Nick Perry, DE/OLB, USC

28.   Green Bay – Shea McClellin, OLB, Boise State

29.   Baltimore – Mark Barron, SS, Alabama

30.   San Francisco – Pete Konz, C, Wisconsin

31.   New England - Kendall Reyes, DE, Connecticut

32.   N.Y. Giants – Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

Steelers announce 80th anniversary details

The Pittsburgh Steelers unveiled plans today for events to celebrate the team’s 80th season, “The Year of the Fan,” as well as a logo commemorating the 80 seasons (1933-2012).
This is the beginning of a broad range of events and festivities that will celebrate the legacy of the team, its players and its fans throughout the 80th season.
The Steelers Fan Image Season Ticket Design Contest gives fans a chance to be on the face of Steelers’ tickets for the 2012 season. From Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 20, Steelers’ fans can submit a 15-second video on Steelers.com with their three words about, “My Steelers Experience."
On Monday, April 23, 80 finalists will be announced. The ten grand prize winners will be revealed at the 2012 Steelers Fan Blitz at Heinz Field on Saturday, April 28. Along with their image on the tickets, the 10 winners will also receive four tickets to a game, pregame hospitality, on-field pregame field passes, a $100 Steelers gift card and participation in the Terrible Towel twirl on the sidelines before kickoff.
At the 2012 Steelers Fan Blitz presented by Xfinity on Saturday, April 28 at Heinz Field,

fans will be able to purchase 80th season merchandise at all Steelers Sideline stores and will have a chance to win prizes every half hour, including 80th season items. In addition, the Pittsburgh Steelers and PNC will provide fans with various opportunities during the 80th season to experience Steelers football up close and personal throughout the entire 2012 season, engaging Steelers Nation through an extensive social media campaign.
© The NFL unveiled its new Nike uniforms for each team. The Steelers' uniform appears on this page. There's not any massive changes.
© In other news, the Steelers hosted running back Isaiah Pead of Cincinnti on Tuesday.
Pead is considered a mid-round prospect.

Steelers host a free agent

The Steelers finally hosted their first free agent on Friday and you can expect a few more to trickle in during the coming weeks as they scan the dollar store wares of what's left over after the feeding frenzy.

Buffalo left tackle Demetrius Bell was in Pittsburgh to meet with Steelers brass. He's visited a few other teams as well and is considered a talented, yet injury prone, left tackle.

Bell has a relationship with Steelers line coach Sean Kugler, which probably prompted his visit to Pittsburgh.

But it's likely his asking price will be out of Pittsburgh's range, even though he played in just seven games last season.

Twenty-seven-year-old left tackles don't come cheaply, even injury-prone ones.

Tomlin speaks

Mike Tomlin spoke to the media for the first time since the Steelers lost at Denver in the playoffs on Tuesday at the NFL owner's meetings.

There wasn't a lot of earth-shattering news to be had. Tomlin reiterated that it was he, not owner Art Rooney II, who made the decision to both fire Bruce Arians and hire Todd Haley to replace him as offensive coordinator.

Tomlin also said the Steelers will likely add a running back this offseason, either via free agency or the draft. The draft is the more likely scenario, though a veteran such as Justin Forsett could fill the void left by Mewelde Moore and serve as a nice change-of-pace to Isaac Redman until Rashard Mendenhall is able to return.

He said receiver Emmanuel Sanders and tackle Willie Colon have a lot to prove after both going through back-to-back injury-plagued seasons.

Tomlin also said the Steelers have hosted three college players - not including the ones from Pitt.

They are Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams, Florida International wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and Cincinnati defensive end Derek Wolfe.

Hilton is an intriguing player. The 5-10, 183-pounder looks like an Antonio Brown clone. He also ran a 4.3ish 40 at his individual workout before pulling up with a quad injury, the same issue he had in his bowl game at Florida International.

The Steelers were likely having their doctors check him out to make sure he's sound.

But the fact that Tomlin offered those names up freely tells me he's not interested in any of those players.

Steelers awarded draft picks

The Steelers were awarded three compensatory picks on Monday, giving them 10 total in this year's draft.

Pittsburgh got three extra seventh-round selections, getting the 33rd selection (pick 240), 39 (246) and 41 (248).

The Steelers likely won't make a deal in the first few rounds, but moving up or down in later rounds is certainly a possibility.

While the compensatory picks cannot be traded, the extra seventh-round selections will give the Steelers the option of dealing some of their picks in the middle rounds to move up a little higher.

© William Gay signing with Arizona is not a surprise.

The fact that he signed just a two-year deal is somewhat surprising, however.

Bryan McFadden also signed a two-year deal with Arizona and found himself back in Pittsburgh a year later.

Now, he might wind up being out of football.

In my estimation, Gay is a slightly better player - because he can play in the slot - but two-year deals don't offer a lot of stability.

The Steelers expected to lose Gay, however.

With Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown in the mix behind Ike Taylor, they're fine at cornerback.

Thoughts on Wallace

Reports out of San Francisco have Mike Wallace requesting a deal worth more than Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald $120 million contract if he were going to consider joining the 49ers.

This, of course, caused a great deal of public outcry from Steelers fans, who A. Don't think Wallace is worth that kind of money, and B. think he's as good as gone.

Both statements are ridiculous.

Agents always aim high when negotiating. That's their job. If, and that's a big if, Wallace's agent told the 49ers he wanted more than Fitzgerald, so what?

That doesn't mean that's where any final contract would end up at.

Agents ask for the moon all the time. That's what they do. The team then offers a counter - if they're truly interested. And so it goes from there.

As for Wallace not being in Fitzgerald's class as a receiver, realize that in their first three NFL seasons, they both caught 24 touchdown passes, while Wallace had more yards. Fitzgerald had more receptions.

That's not a true barometer and the eye test tells me Fitzgerald is a better receiver, but agents being agents, they're going to look at the numbers.

Does this mean Wallace won't be a Steeler in 2012? Nope. In fact, if the report is true - and I do have my doubts about the veracity - Wallace will definitely be back with the Steelers this season.

And if they can't work out a deal with Wallace, there's always the possibility of using the franchise tag on him in 2013.

Ward goes out with class

Hines Ward announced his retirement today, the way he should have done so about a month ago - with class.

Ward thanked his teammates, the organization and fans for his 14 years in a Pittsburgh uniform, choking back tears on a number of occasions.

At this point, there's not a whole lot I can say about Ward that I haven't already said.

I've always respected him and he was always a stand-up guy who was loved by his teammates.

That was apparent at Tuesday's press conference when Aaron Smith, James Harrison and Jerome Bettis showed up to lend support.

They did, however, have a side bet on how long it would take Ward to break down and cry. As Harrison said, "Hines is a cryer."

But there's nothing wrong with that. Ward played with emotion, and it was tough for him to walk away from the game he loves.

Ward can do so, however, with his head held high. He gave his all at all times on the field and in practice.

And as he said, he and Smith, James Farrior and Chris Hoke – all of whom the team has parted ways with in the past month – leave a legacy here much like the Steelers of the '70s.

They won, and they won a lot.

Why I don't see a team making a run at Wallace

Now that Peyton Manning has chosen the Denver Broncos as his final destination, speculation has begun about the Broncos or 49ers making a pitch to Steelers restricted free agent Mike Wallace.

I don't see it happening in either case.

The Broncos already have a decent young receiving corps as the Steelers found out the hard way in the playoffs. If Demaryious Thomas and Eric Decker could make Tim Tebow look good at times, imagine how they will do with Manning.

And the more important rumor is that Manning would like to bring tight end Dallas Clark along with him from Indianapolis. That makes a lot more sense.

The Broncos could then spend their remaining cap space to beef up their defensive line, which is a weakness.

As for San Francisco, the 49ers can add all the receivers in the world, but right now, they don't have a quarterback. That's a little more important.

I'm not saying it won't happen, but even if it does, the Steelers will work hard to match the offer. They're not going to allow Wallace to walk.

Hampton takes a cut

With Casey Hampton taking a cut in pay - it's a cut, not a restructure as some are reporting it - the Steelers' need to take a nose tackle high in the draft is a little less pressing.

And it again goes to show how the Steelers like to do business.

Pittsburgh never likes to go into a season being forced to rely on a rookie at any position, particularly on defense.

That's why there hasn't been a full-time rookie starter on the team's defense since Hampton and Kendrell Bell broke in there in 2001.

And even at that, Hampton and Bell had to earn their spots. They weren't handed the positions.

So the Steelers now have Hampton under contract, meaning they can ease a rookie into the rotation if he deserves it. The same goes at inside linebacker, where they are comfortable playing Larry Foote beside Lawrence Timmons if need be.

Certainly, things aren't so cut-and-dried on offense. But even in cases where rookies have come in and started - Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, etc. - the Steelers had veteran options around just in case things took a little longer than expected.

It's the Steelers way. And it's worked for some time.

So while fans may get upset that both Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin don't like to play rookies, the reality is that they don't like to HAVE to play rookies. And there is a difference.

Market for Wallace being set

There as a flurry on wide receivers getting new contracts on Tuesday as the free agent period began in the NFL.

But none of the receivers signing deals was named Mike Wallace.

That doesn't mean, however, that it wasn't a big day for Wallace, as the market was set for a receiver of his skills.

Let's take a look at some of the deals that were completed.

Vincent Jackson, who is one strike short of getting a year's suspension, signed a five-year $55 million contract with Tampa Bay.

Washington went crazy - there's a shock - and gave Pierre Garçon $42.5 million for five years and Josh Morgan essentially $6 million per year.

Robert Meachem(!) got $25.9 million for four years from San Diego to replace Jackson.

And just before the free agency period began, New Orleans re-signed Marques Colston to a five-year, $40-million deal.

That's some crazy money being thrown around for a group of receivers, many of whom aren't in Wallace's class.

So what will this mean for the Steelers?

That $9.4 million figure it would have cost them to place the franchise tag on Wallace might have been a bargain.

Then again, with so many teams dipping their toes into the receiver waters, there aren't a lot of teams out there still looking for receivers.

And, as I've said all along, it's one thing to sign a receiver to a big deal. It's another to do so AND give up a first-round pick, which is what a team would have to do to pry Wallace away from the Steelers.

The question is, however, can the Steelers afford to sign Wallace to a long-term deal?

The answer, at least right now, is no. But the salary cap will be increasing in 2013, which is good news considering Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are going to reach their restricted free agent year following the 2012 season.

Free agency set to begin

The free agent period will begin in a couple of days and there's sure to be a furry of activity, even though the salary cap came in at just $120.6 million, a smidgen above what it was last season.

Some teams are always prepared to overpay for somebody else's talent.

As has been the case, don't expect the Steelers to be major players – unless they have to.

The team has been in contact with the agent for wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. And even if he gets an offer on the open market, it's likely he'll at least give the Steelers the opportunity to match.

Outside of that, the Steelers will sit on the sidelines and look for bargains - as they always do.

And the Steelers also won't lose anybody they can't do without.

They will make tender offers on all of their restricted free agents to cover their behind, but if push comes to shove, because of Pittsburgh's iffy cap situation, it won't go crazy to match any offers - save one for wide receiver Mike Wallace.

What's next for Steelers

After the painful goodbyes of last week, the Steelers now prepare for the next step in the 2012 offseason - making their final preparations for free agency.

After last week's releases and the previous restructures the team did in the previous weeks, the Steelers are approximately $12 to $14 million under the salary cap - depending on what it finally comes in at.

The Steelers must now tender their offers to restricted free agents. That will include a first-round tender of $2.742 million for wide receiver Mike Wallace and the low tender of $1.26 million to guards Ramon Foster and Doug Legursky, both of who were undrafted, corner Keenan Lewis (third), safety Ryan Mundy (sixth) and tight end David Johnson (seventh).

That will eat up some $9 million of their newfound cap space.

Offering the low tender for Foster and Legursky is a gamble, perhaps even more so than making a first-round tender for Wallace.

With the release of Chris Kemoeatu, the Steelers have no other guards with NFL experience on their roster. Should another team decide to make an offer to Legursky or Foster that the Steelers cannot or do not want to match, they would receive no compensation.

The team does still have some cap wiggle room should it have to clear space to match an offer for Wallace or either guard.

Nose tackle Casey Hampton, who is scheduled to make $5.89 million, could be asked to take a pay cut or be released. The Steelers could also trim offensive tackle Jonathan Scott ($2.2 million) or safety Will Allen ($1.28 million).

A couple of things we do now know after last week's cuts is that A. this team values Jerricho Cotchery over Ward and will make a strong push to re-sign him, and B. Guard and inside linebacker have become the undoubted biggest needs in the draft.

The Steelers have enough money under the cap to make a strong offer for Cotchery, though, again, if they have to match any offers to their own restricted free agents, obviously, some other cuts would have to be made.

Resigning Cotchery would also preclude the team from making a strong pitch for any of their unrestricted free agents, most notably corner Will Gay or running back Mewelde Moore.

Two more vets told to hit the road, more coming?

The Steelers have informed defensive end Aaron Smith and guard Chris Kemoeatu that they are not in the team's plans for 2012 and will be released.

The news comes a day after the team informed wide receiver Hines Ward that he will also be released.

The total cap savings from those cuts - when they occur – will be $9.7 million.

And the Steelers might not be done. Avella native Ralph Cindrich, the agent for linebacker James Farrior, tweeted on Thursday that he expects his client could also be on the chopping block.

Certainly, either Farrior or fellow veteran inside linebacker Larry Foote, will not be with the team in 2012.

It is difficult to see Smith, like Ward, go.

A consummate professional, Smith was long one of the most underrated defensive linemen in the league - until everyone began talking about him being one of the most underrated defensive linemen in the league. By the time that happened, injuries began to knock him out of the lineup for extended periods of time.

Yet Smith was still one of the most respected men in a locker room full of strong leaders.

If the Steelers do indeed cut Farrior to go along with the cuts of Ward and Smith, they will have lost a great deal of leadership in their locker room.

Who steps into some of those roles remains to be seen.

Brett Keisel is a natural option along the defensive front, while Troy Polamalu, though not necessarily vocal, is a player who leads by example.

Offensively, there is little doubt that Ben Roethlisberger is now the man, though Maurkice Pouncey has also earned a lot of respect from his peers.

Lasting memories of Hines Ward

The Steelers made the tough, but logical, choice on Wednesday and announced their plans to release wide receiver Hines Ward.

Perhaps it's fitting that it occurred on Feb. 29, Leap Year.

One of my lasting memories of Ward – and there are plenty – will be his half-skip, half-leap in the end zone after catching the game-clinching touchdown pass from Antwaan Randle El in Super Bowl XL.

For 14 seasons, Ward has personified the Steelers organization. He was tough. He was gritty. He was a football player.

In an age when many wide receivers have been me-first prima donnas, Ward worked his tail off in all facets of the game.

When he was a special teams player, he was the best special teams player he could be. When he was needed as a blocker, he threw himself into it with reckless abandon. When he was relegated to being a backup, he did so gracefully.

Here's hoping he takes the giant hint the Steelers gave him Wednesday and doesn't attempt to try and come back another season elsewhere.

The Steelers made it quite obvious that they don't feel he can play any longer.

Their concerted effort to get him 1,000 receptions made their intentions obvious. They didn't want the season to end with Ward short of his goal because they were pretty sure they weren't going to bring him back.

And now that's the case.

Some will say that because of what Ward has meant for the team, the Steelers owed him the opportunity to come back.

But that's ridiculous. The Steelers took care of their debt to Ward in Week 17 in Cleveland when they got him his 1,000th catch.

They told him they didn't think he could play any longer.

He is choosing not to believe them.

And that's a shame.

Maybe Ward will come to his senses soon and realize that at 36, he not only can't, but doesn't need, to play football any longer.

The thought of Ward finishing out his career in another city playing for another team just isn't right.

Poe likely moves out of Steelers range

Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe likely moved out of the range of the Steelers in the first round of the draft when he clocked in at and official 4.98 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine Monday.

Original times had him at 4.87 seconds, but 4.98 is still pretty darn good when you consider Poe is 6-4, 346 pounds and also had the best bench at this combine, putting up 225 pounds 44 times.

He also blistered his 10-yard time in 1.70 seconds, showing plenty of explosiveness.

There is a question as to why that didn't necessarily translate into more big plays at Memphis, but if you're looking for a guy who has the power and burst to occupy two blockers at the nose - and possibly shift outside at times to end in a 3-4 - Poe is your guy.

© The linebacker prospects also ran on Monday and there are a pair there that should interest the Steelers a great deal.

Boston College's Luke Kuechly (6-3, 242), my personal favorite, answered questions about his speed by blistering the 40 in 4.58 seconds.

Kuchely's instincts might be unmatched by the players available in this draft and the only question about him was whether he had the kind of speed needed to go sideline to sideline. The top tackler in the nation last season with 191(!) answered those questions.

The other top-rated inside linebacker, Alabama's Dont'a Hightower, doesn't have Kuechly's instincts - who does? - but he's built like current Steelers star LaMarr Woodley, with thick legs and body.

At 6-2, 265 pounds, Hightower ran the 40 in 4.68 seconds. He has the added bonus of being able to line up outside as well and give you some pass rush.

Selecting Hightower in the draft would give the Steelers the luxury of never having to move Lawrence Timmons – who was terrible on the outside – out there again.

News, notes from the combine thus far

Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe showed off his strength this weekend in the bench press, putting 225 pounds up 44 times, the best at this year's combine.

Poe is a sculpted 6-4, 346 pounds, though his arms were a bit short at 32 inches.

@ Alameda Ta'amu of Washington, the other top nose tackle prospect, weighed in at 348 pounds on his 6-3 frame.

Ta'amu, who is more of a second-round prospect, did 35 reps and had 32-inch arms.

@ Georgia guard/tackle Cordy Glenn ran the 40 in 5.15 seconds, not bad for a man who is 6-5, 345 pounds.

He also had the second-longest longest arms of any of the offensive linemen at 35 3/4 inches.

Despite the long arms, Glenn still pressed 225 pounds 31 times, a very respectible number

Glenn is viewed as a mid-to-late first-round pick, which puts him in the Steelers' range.

@ California University of Pennsylvania guard Rishaw Johnson showed off his wheels by clocking in right behind Glenn at 5.24 seconds in the 40.

Johnson, 6-3, 313 pounds, is a sleeper in this draft who's likely to be selected in round four or five. The former Ole Miss star transferred to Cal last season.

He showed at the Senior Bowl that he's not really capable of playing center, but his mobility and strength are excellent.

Johnson did, however, struggle in some of the drills, failing to perform them properly and drawing the wrath of position coaches.

He's raw, but with his athleticism, you never know.

@ Winconsin guard Kevin Zeitler and Iowa State's Kelechi Osemele, a pair of late-first, early-second round prospects, clocked in at 5.39 seconds and 5.36 seconds, respectively.

Zeitler's arm length - 32 3/4 - is a bit short, but he used that to his advantage, doing 32 reps on the bench.

Osemele had the longest arms of any lineman - he should at 6-6, 333 pounds - at 35 7/8 and also managed 32 bench reps.

@ We'll see how the linebackers run later this week.

At this point, it clearly appears the Steelers will target two of those three positions in the first two rounds of the draft.

News of the day

Kevin Colbert spoke to the media in Indianpolis Thursday regarding the Steelers cap situation - which was getting better as he was speaking.

The team restructured the contract of Ben Roethlisberger to free up a little more than $8 million in cap space, putting the Steelers right around where they need to be heading into free agency.

The league hasn't officially told teams what the cap will be, so the moves they have made thus far have been to put them in the ballpark.

Of course, to begin tendering their restricted free agents, more restructuring and cuts will be coming, something Colbert acknowledged today.

"We’ve already done some restructurings," Colbert said. "We know we’re going to have to do more. We know we’re going to have to terminate players. We just don’t know what combination or how much restructuring we have left."

Colbert said the team is confident it will be able to keep wide receiver Mike Wallace, who will be a restricted free agent.

The Steelers likely won't put the franchise tag on Wallace, but they will have the first right of refusal on any contract offer he might receive. Given how creative they have already been getting to the cap, it's likely he's right.

Colbert also said he doesn't expect running back Rashard Mendenhall to be placed on season-ending IR or to be released. Colbert expects Mendenhall to contribute in some manner in 2012 despite suffering a torn ACL in the final regular season game.

Colbert was also confident that nose tackle Casey Hampton will fully recover from his torn ACL - his third - and be ready to go at the start of the season.

"You don’t have to worry about speed," Colbert said. "You don’t have to worry about the quick change of direction when you’re talking about the offensive and defensive linemen. The one edge Casey will have on anybody is he’s been through this twice and he knows what to expect and he knows how he’s going to feel at a certain point when he feels he’s healthy."

They finally meet

Film at 11. According to Ed Bouchette, Ben Roethlisberger and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley have finally had their meeting.

Pretty exciting, huh?

I guess we can now move on to the next offseason crisis for the Steelers.

@ The Steelers have restructed the contract of offensive tackle Willie Colon, converting $3.8 million of Colon's $4.5 million salary in 2012 into bonus money.

The $3.8 million will count over the final four years of Colon's contract.

Colon, of course, will be counted on to return at RT after missing most of the past two seasons.

Marcus Gilbert will shift to left tackle.

The Steelers still have some salary trimming to do, but much like the move with Colon, it's not all that difficult.

The players like it as well. Instead of waiting for their checks throughout the season, they get one big fat one in the offseason.

Sanders says a couple of interesting things

I did an hour of radio on Sunday from the Pittsburgh Auto Show with Gerry Dulac. Then, after I finished, Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders came on to replace me for the final hour.

I know, I know, I was a poor warm-up act, kind of like bringing out your cousin's garage band to open for The Who.

But Sanders did have a couple of interesting things to say.

First was that Mike Tomlin told Sanders in his exit interview that he will handle kickoff and punt returns - at least that's the plan - because Antonio Brown is now the full-time No. 2, while Sanders is No. 3.

That's tough not to use your Pro Bowl return guy, and something tells me that Brown will be back there in crucial situations, but they have to save the wear and tear on a critical part of the offense.

The other interesting thing Sanders said - and kudos to Dulac for asking - was how often Ben Roethlisberger checked out of running plays.

Sanders estimated it at 20 percent of the time, saying Roethlisberger would go to the line of scrimmage with two plays called, one a run, the other a pass.

That's just one player's recall of things, but it would explain some of the offensive inbalance the Steelers have had.

Brown has no trouble meeting Haley

Antonio Brown today Tweeted - he's a Tweeting fool - a photo of he and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley in the Steelers locker room.

Brown just got back into Pittsburgh yesterday after his whirlwind tour of the country and met up with Haley in less than a day.

He did this by, you know, going down to the Steelers offices and seeking him out.

Yet somehow, Ben Roethlisberger hasn't been able to find Haley. Go figure?

Sounds like a little more drama from the king of drama.

I have a lot of respect for Roethlisberger the player. But I could do without all of the other stuff.

Then again, is it Roethlisberger making a big deal out of not talking to Haley yet or certain segments of the media?

So many of the issues with Roethlisberger are media driven as guys try to back their own agendas.

© I'll be on ESPN 970-AM from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Pittsburgh Auto show talking Steelers football.

9.4 million reasons the Steelers won't tag Wallace

There has been some supposition that the Steelers will simply slap the franchise tag on wide receiver Mike Wallace rather than risk losing him as a restricted free agent.
Teams can begin placing the franchise tag on players Feb. 20.
Here are the franchise numbers for 2012:

Quarterback $16.1 million
Running Back $7.7 million
Wide Receiver $9.4 million
Tight End $5.4 million
Offensive Line $9.4 million
Defensive End $10.6 million
Defensive Tackle $7.9 million
Linebacker $8.8 million
Cornerback $10.6 million
Safety $6.2 million

As you can see, the cost to franchise Wallace would be $9.4 million, much too much for the salary cap-strapped Steelers to add to their cap.

But remember, the free agent market at many positions - including wide receiver - is ridiculously deep this year.

In other words, why give up a first-round draft pick to sign Wallace when you can sign DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, Stevie Johnson, Dwayne Bowe or Marques Colston instead?

Colbert speaks out

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said today that the team has had internal discussions about the future of wide receiver Hines Ward, but that no decision has been made about whether Ward will be part of the team in 2012.

Colbert also had a couple of other interesting statements.

First, he's not counting on Rashard Mendenhall to return healthy in 2012 after suffering an ACL tear in the final game of the regular season.

Second, the team will not sign any of its free agents before the March 13 deadline.

In the case of Mendenhall, that means the Steelers will likely be looking for a running back in the offseason - either through the draft or free agency.

It's a safe approach for Colbert to take. Assume Mendenhall won't be back healthy, and if he is, it's an added bonus.

As for the free agent statement, it helps make a case for the Steelers to keep Ward.

Yes, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are under contract, but with Jerricho Cotchery set to become a free agent, there's no proven depth behind them.

Steelers to cut Ward?

According to the NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora, who apparently has a direct line to head coach Mike Tomlin thanks to his NFL affiliation, the Steelers have decided to release wide receiver Hines Ward rather than pay him $4 million to be the team's No. 4 receiver next season.

There was some thought to cutting Ward's salary, something the receiver was open to, but the Steelers, according to LaCanfora, have decided they have no use for a No. 4 receiver who can't play special teams.

© In other news, the Steelers have restructured the contracts of both Ike Taylor and Lawrence Timmons, moving them closer to getting under the league salary cap of approximately $124 million.

In the past few days, the Steelers have freed up $15 million by restructuring the contracts of LaMarry Woodley, Timmons and Taylor.

They also saved over $3 million on Wednesday with the release of Bryant McFadden and Arnaz Battle.

Thoughts on Haley

I have largely reserved my thoughts on the Steelers' hiring of Todd Haley to this point.

But after meeting with Haley today and then hearing what Ben Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette, I can hold back no longer.

Roethlisberger reportedly told the P-G that he has heard from a lot of people regarding Haley, some good some bad, but that he is reserving judgment.

He then, however, said he'd hate to see the offense changed because it could set the team's young receivers back two or three years.

Which ones? The ones who have only been in the league for two or three years?

That is a ridiculous statement by Roethlisberger and, though Haley did not address the quarterback's comments directly, he did say that players usually see that he has their best interests at heart when he is doing things.

Roethlisberger liked Bruce Arians. And he was comfortable with Arians as offensive coordinator because he got to call a lot of the shots.

That dynamic is now gone and Roethlisberger is wary of what the results will be.

I get that.

But the Steelers made the decision to move on from Arians because they felt he was an enabler.

We always heard the excuses. The Steelers were a play away here or there, they weren't all on the same page, etc., etc.

Haley won't settle for excuses. He'll want results.

And if that means not playing Chris Kemoeatu at left guard for two seasons longer than he should have, so be it.

If that means Roethlisberger will be forced to get the ball out of his hands more quickly to take fewer sacks in an attempt to keep him from being injured, that's just dandy as well.

Haley has shown that he's not afraid to call what he thinks his team does best. When he was with the Cardinals, it was a prolific passing attack. When he moved on to Kansas City, a power-running game took over.

As Haley said Thursday, his emphasis is on winning. And Roethlisberger, who is as competitive as they come, won't have a problem with that.

Steelers begin offeseason moves

The Steelers on Wednesday began the process of getting under the 2012 NFL salary cap by releasing veterans Bryant McFadden and Arnaz Battle.

McFadden, a starting cornerback at the beginning of the season, lost his starting job to William Gay after suffering a hamstring injury.

Battle, the team's special teams captain, also struggled through an injury-plagued 2011 season.

Their release, coupled with a restructuring of linebacker LaMarr Woodley's contract, saves the Steelers around $10 million in cap space.

The Steelers are still around $10 million over the 2012 cap, but have another three weeks to alleviate that issue.

Up next on the restructuring table could be linebacker Lawrence Timmons and nose tackle Casey Hampton.

Timmons' deal would be a straight restructure, with the team looking to lower his $9.1 million cap hit, while Hampton will likely have to take a pay cut from his $4.9 million salary to stick around.

© The St. Louis Rams have asked the Steelers for permission to speak to front office man Omar Khan regarding their general manager opening.

Steelers hire Haley

The Steelers officially hired Todd Haley as their offensive coordinator Tuesday, ending a nearly two-week search for the replacement for Bruce Arians.

The Steelers grew weary of Arians' buddy-buddy relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and were looking for a new coordinator who will bring a more balanced offensive attack.

Haley, who most recently served as head coach in Kansas City, should do that.

© Steelers tight end Weslye Saunders has been suspended for four games by the NFL for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs.

Now word yet on what Saunders tested positive for, but it could be any number of things – some of which are available in over-the-counter medications.

© My heart goes out to the family of Tunch Ilkin regarding the death of his lovely wife Sharon.

Sharon Ilkin, like Tunch, was a graduate of Indiana State University, where she was a cheerleader.

She once appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with fellow Indiana State product Larry Bird.

Report: Steelers to hire Haley

According to a report out of Kansas City, the Steelers are going to hire former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator.

Haley would replace Bruce Arians, who was fired by the team last month.

Haley is known for a confrontational style and is not afraid of getting in a player's face.

That's an approach the Steelers seem ready to embrace after feeling that Arians was too friendly with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

An Upper St. Clair graduate, Haley is the son of Midway native Dick Haley, a longtime Steelers' personnel director.

Dawson, Butler elected to Hall of Fame

Center Dermontti Dawson and defensive back Jack Butler, a pair of former Steelers greats, were among the group named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Dawson, a seven-time All-Pro, was a member of the NFL's all-decade team for the '90s. He played in 184 career games for the Steelers and helped redefine the center position.

Butler, a member of the all-decade team for the '50s, had 52 career interceptions in nine seasons with the Steelers.

Also inducted were a pair of Pitt products, running back Curtis Martin and defensive lineman Chris Doleman.

They will join defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy and offensive tackle Willie Roaf in Canton this summer for induction.

Not making the cut this year were former Steelers Jerome Bettis and linebacker Kevin Greene.

Bettis should make it in 2012.

Who I like, Super Bowl version

In the aftermath of the conference championship games, the choice of who I liked to win the Super Bowl was an easy one. The Giants had beaten the Patriots in the regular season and were seemingly a team of destiny.

But the more I've thought about it, the more I now favor the Patriots.

The money is going heavily in favor of the Giants for the reasons I first stated, but I think that late money will go to New England.

Here's why:

Tom Brady had a sub-par game against Baltimore - at least by his standards. Great quarterbacks usually bounce back from such efforts.

In addition, I have too much respect for Bill Belichick as a coach to think that he won't come up with a plan to slow the Giants, particularly having already faced them once.

The fact the favored Patriots are being treated as underdogs will also play in Belichick's favor. He'll use that as a motivating factor.

I like the Patriots, who are now favored by 2 1/2, to win, 31-27.

Wilson undergoing rehab

Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson has begun rehab according to a release from his family, showing he is on the road to recovery from burns suffered over 45 percent of his body.

This is good news for Wilson, who suffered his burns in a Jan. 6 fire at his home.

© Comcast and the NFL have teamed up to provide 22-minute recaps of every Super Bowl ever played – free on Xfinity On Demand.

Fans can easily look back at the Steelers’ six Super Bowl victories, a great way to jumpstart their preparations for Sunday’s showdown between the Patriots and Giants. These recaps can be found in the Sports and Fitness, NFL Network and NFL Super Bowl folders on the On Demand menu.

Coaching wheels turning

Mike Tomlin met with Todd Haley on Tuesday as he continues his search for a new offensive coordinator.

Previously, Tomlin met with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, who was later hired as QB coach by Baltimore.

According to the NFL Network, meanwhile, the Steelers have also made some inquiries regarding former Pitt QB Alex Van Pelt.

Van Pelt, a 1993 draft pick of the Steelers who never played with the team, was most recently QB coach in Tampa Bay. He previously served as a QB coach and offensive coordinator in Buffalo.

It's likely, however, the Steelers are interested in Van Pelt as a quarterbacks coach if they choose to elevate current quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner.

One other name that could surface in Tomlin's search is current University of Colorado offensive coordinator Rip Scherer.

Scherer, like Tomlin, is a graduate of William & Mary and is the cousin of Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert.

The 59-year-old Scherer served as assistant head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2005 through 2008 and quarterbacks coach in Carolina in 2009 and 2010.

© The news that Keith Butler decided to stay with the Steelers rather than accept the defensive coordinator position in Indianapolis isn't all that surprising.

Butler continues to be the leading candidate to eventually replace Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator with the Steelers – though when that happens is anyone's best guess – and his family likes it in Pittsburgh.

© The Steelers have given Tampa Bay permission to talk to current defensive assistant Jerry Olsavsky, while also granting offensive assistant Harold Goodwin permission to speak with Indianapolis and Chicago about openings.

UPDATE: Goodwin was hired as Indianapolis' offensive line coach on Tuesday.

Both are good men and quality coaches who deserve shots to become position coaches.

In fact Goodwin stepped in as the Steelers running backs coach when Kirby Wilson was injured in the fire in his home a few days before the team's playoff loss at Denver.

Speaking of Wilson, according to Lance Zierlein, who runs a great blog out of the Houston area, his father, former Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein, said that Wilson is now sitting up and doing much better.

He still faces a long road to recovery.

If Butler leaves, who replaces him

It appears that Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler is going to take the job as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts under new head coach Chuck Pagano.

Butler is expected to be in Indianapolis on Tuesday to finalize things, leaving the Steelers another opening on their coaching staff.

This one, however, will be pretty easy to fill. Former Steelers linebacker Jerry Olsavsky, who is already on staff, will be the no-brainer replacement.

As a player, Olsavsky always got the most out of his talent by knowing the defense inside and out and being technically sound. Those traits will make him a great linebackers coach and possible future replacement for Dick LeBeau.

It is interesting to note that Pagano, who had been Baltimore's defensive coordinator, will now have Bruce Arians coordinating his offense and Butler coordinating his defense.

Adding to the irony of the situation is that Mike Tomlin was seen at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel meeting with former Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell, who was replaced by Pagano.

Caldwell presumably was interviewing for the Steelers offensive coordinator position vacated when Arians was fired/retired last week.

Roethlisberger's words not damning

Some people will try to make a mountain out of a molehill, which is what is happening with the Steelers jettisoning offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

But Ben Roethlisberger seems to have put things in proper perspective.

"When I get back, I'm going to go up to Mr. Rooney's office and ask him what he wants from me, what he wants from this offense, because I think that's a viable question for him," Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Thursday following an AFC practice at Hickam Air Force Base. "He's our owner and our boss, so I really would like to know kind of what he wants and where he sees our offense going because I'd like to tell him where I see us going."

Roethlisberger is 100 percent correct, though he didn't identify which Rooney, Dan or Art II, that he was speaking about.

The bottom line is that Dan Rooney has the title of chairman and Art II that of team president. If they were unhappy with the direction of the offense, they were free to express it.

In fact, Art did just that a couple of years ago, saying the team needed to run the ball more effectively.

And you know what, the Steelers made that a point of emphasis in 2010.

But the offense obviously took a step backward in 2011, though the defense's lack of forced turnovers certainly didn't help.

Still, the point is that Art Rooney II or Dan Rooney or whoever made the call for Arians to go - I believe it was Dan - was perfectly within their rights to do so. They are, after all, the guys writing the checks.

And this isn't out of character for the Steelers. Remember, back in 1989, Dan Rooney ordered Chuck Noll to fire linebackers coach Jed Hughes.

If Noll can be ordered to fire an assistant - one that Noll liked - why not Mike Tomlin?

Steelers looking in-house first

The Steelers will look for an offensive coordinator in-house first, giving Randy Fichtner and Sean Kugler the first shot at replacing Bruce Arians.

Fichtner, the team's wide receivers coach when hired, has spent the past two seasons as quarterbacks coach.

Kugler, meanwhile, has been with the Steelers for two seasons as offensive line coach, joining them after stints in Detroit and Buffalo.

Both men are sharp and it seems becoming an offensive coordinator would be the next logical step for either man.

And then there were two

The Super Bowl matchup is now set and for Steelers fans, I offer this insight.

On one side, you have the kind of offense the Steelers have long proclaimed they'd like to be - the multiple sets of New England.

On the other side is the kind of offense they should be - a Giants offense that employs two running backs to go along with its three pretty darn good receivers.

Here's why the Steelers could be the Giants offensively a lot easier than they could the Patriots.

Pittsburgh has three outstanding young receivers in Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. Add Jerricho Cotchery to the mix - if they can re-sign him - and add in a dash of Heath Miller and the Steelers could be every bit as dangerous as New York.

The interesting thing here is that while the general belief is that the Giants are a run-first team, they decidedly were not this season. But they ran the ball reasonably well when Ahmad Bradshaw was healthy.

Rashard Mendenhall could be used in the same fashion, if, and this is a big if, he would get more looks in the passing game.

Bruce Arians always raved about Mendenhall's hands. But the Steelers rarely did much to take advantage of them.

As for Brandon Jacobs, I'd say that Isaac Redman is a better, younger version of the big back, capable of picking up a yard when you need to and help run out the clock at the end of the game.

And yes, the Giants employ a fullback, former Pitt star Henry Hynoski.

It is interesting to note that Hynoski said in a radio interview last week with Joe Starkey that the Steelers wanted to sign him as an undrafted free agent.

Odds are that whomever the Steelers hire as their new offensive coordinator, having a true fullback will become a priority once again.

It is, after all, easier to find a fullback than it is the next Rob Gronkowski.

Philbin hire means Clements likely out

With Joe Philbin's hiring Friday as head coach of the Miami Dolphins on Friday, you can likely cross Green Bay QB coach Tom Clements off the list for potential Bruce Arians replacements.

It's likely that Clements will get the first shot to replace Philbin as Green Bay's offensive coordinator. So unless he has a burning desire to come back to Pittsburgh – where he grew up – to join the Steelers staff for a second time, it's unlikely Clements will be the man.

Arians, of course, "retired" on Friday after being with the Steelers since 2004, including the past five seasons as offensive coordinator.

Randy Fichtner would be the top candidate from within the organization to replace Arians.

The top two outside candidates could be a pair of fired NFL head coaches, Kansas City's Todd Haley and Indianapolis' Jim Caldwell.

Haley is a Pittsburgh native whose father - a McDonald native – Dick was a longtime personnel man for the Steelers.

Caldwell, meanwhile, coaches with Tomlin under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay and the two maintain a relationship.

© Here are my picks for this weekend's games:

Baltimore (plus 7 1/2 ) at New England
The Ravens were bad on the road this season, but New England made it to the AFC Championship without beating a team this season that finished the season with a winning record.

Something tells me the Pats will figure out a way to bottle up Ray Rice.

Take Baltimore to cover in a 27-20 loss

N.Y. Giants (plus 2 1/2) at San Francisco

The Giants look like a team of destiny right now. Plus, they led the NFL with 48 sacks, while the 49ers gave up 44, most of any team that made the playoffs.

Take the Giants, 23-17

Early entrants for the draft

Here is the list of early entrants into the NFL draft:

Players granted special eligibility for the 2012 NFL Draft on April 26-28 in New York:
Alvester Alexander, RB, Wyoming
Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson
Edwin Baker, RB, Michigan St.
Mike Ball, RB, Nevada
Jamison Berryhill, RB, Texas
Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
Bryce Brown, RB, Kansas St.
Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona St.
Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
Morris Claiborne, DB, LSU
Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi St.
David DeCastro, G, Stanford
Tiree Eure, TE, Minnesota
Marcus Forston, DT, Miami
Stephon Gilmore, DB, South Carolina
Chris Givens, WR, Wake Forest
Dorian Graham, WR, Syracuse
Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor
Jewel Hampton, RB, Southern Illinois
Cliff Harris, DB, Oregon
Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
Ronnie Hillman, RB, San Diego St.
Max Holloway, DE, Boston College
Jayron Hosley, DB, Virginia Tech
Janzen Jackson, DB, McNeese St.
LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina
Aldarius Johnson, WR, Miami
Damaris Johnson, WR, Tulsa
Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse
Matt Kalil, OT, Southern California
Dre Kirkpatrick, DB, Alabama
Peter Konz, C Wisconsin
Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
Ronnell Lewis, DE, Oklahoma
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Terrell Manning, LB, N.C. State
Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
Bobby Massie, OT, Mississippi
Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
Lamar Miller, RB, Miami
Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona St.
Eric Page, WR, Toledo
Donte Paige-Moss, DE, North Carolina
Nick Perry, DE, Southern California
Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple
Ken Plue, G, Purdue
Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
Rueben Randle, WR, LSU
Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
Josh Robinson, DB, Central Florida
Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
Darrell Scott, RB, South Florida
Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami
Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon
Johnny Thomas, DB, Oklahoma St.
Phillip Thomas, DB, Syracuse
Barrett Trotter, QB, Auburn
Olivier Vernon, DE, Miami
Brandon Washington, OT, Miami
David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech
Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan St.

Arians retiring?

Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette is reporting that Bruce Arians is strongly considering retirement.

If Dulac is reporting it, you can bet it came directly from Arians. The two are pretty close.

Most Steelers fans will rejoice at the news that Arians is considering retirement again - Ben Roethlisberger reportedly talked him out of it last year.

Quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner would be the in-staff replacement for the Steelers.

The team will also be searching for a replacement for running backs coach Kirby Wilson, who suffered burns over 45 percent of his body in a fire in his home earlier this month.

Wilson faces a long recovery before he's out of the woods with his injuries.

Kirby Wilson's family releases statement

The family of Steelers running back coach Kirby Wilson released this statement today:

“Mr. Kirby Wilson remains in critical condition in the Trauma Burn Center at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh. In addition to burns sustained over 45 percent of his body, he has suffered a smoke inhalation injury and will require multiple operative procedures in the future.”

Wilson was burned in a fire in his home two weeks ago.

East-West Shrine rosters set

East-West Shrine Classic Rosters
By The Associated Press
Saturday, Jan. 21, at St. Petersburg, Fla.
EAST
Coach: Bobby Ross
1 Jerrell Young, S, South Florida
2 Micah Pellerin, DB, Hampton
3 Tim Benford, WR, Tennessee Tech
4 Gary Gray, DB, Notre Dame
5 A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois
7 Nick Sukay, LB, Penn State
8 Tysyn Hartman, S, Kansas State
9 Chase Ford, TE, Miami
10 Shawn Loiseau, LB, Merrimack
11 R.J. Blanton, DB, Notre Dame
12 Austin Davis, QB, Southern Mississippi
13 Kevin Hardy, WR, Citadel
14 Charles Brown, DB, North Carolina
15 Davin Meggett, RB, Maryland
16 John Brantley, QB, Florida
17 LaRon Byrd, WR, Miami
18 Thomas Mayo, WR, California (Pa.)
19 BJ Coleman, QB, Chattanooga
20 Lance Lewis, WR, East Carolina
21 B.J. Cunningham, WR, Michigan State
26 Justin Bethel, DB, Presbyterian
28 Tauren Poole, RB, Tennessee
29 Steven Erzinger, LB, Army
31 Josh Norman, DB, Coastal Carolina
32 Alfred Morris, RB, Florida Atlantic
33 Christian Thompson, S, South Carolina State
35 Brandon Lindsey, LB, Pittsburgh
38 Emanuel Davis, DB, East Carolina
40 Matt Daniels, S, Duke
42 Najee Goode, LB, West Virginia
44 Emil Igwenagu, TE, Massachusetts
45 Shawn Powell, P, Florida State
48 Bruce Figgins, FB/TE, Georgia
50 Joshua Linam, LB, Central Florida
53 Quentin Saulsberry, C, Missisippi State
54 Micanor Regis, DL, Miami
55 Max Gruder, LB, Pittsburgh
57 Blair Walsh, PK, Georgia
63 Derek Dennis, G, Temple
65 Tyler Horn, C, Miami
70 Jeremiah Warren, G, South Florida
72 Lamar Holmes, OT, Southern Mississippi
73 Desmond Wynn, G, Rutgers
75 Rishaw Johnson, G, California (Pa.)
76 Jeff Adams, OT, Columbia
79 Joe Long, OT, Wayne State (Mich.)
78 Bradley Sowell, OT, Mississippi
88 Evan Rodriguez, TE, Temple
90 Nick Jean-Baptiste, DL, Baylor
92 Travian Robertson, DL, South Carolina
94 Matt Conrath, DL, Virginia
95 Kyle Wilber, DL, Wake Forest
97 Julian Miller, DL, West Virginia
98 Jabaree Tuani, DL, Navy
99 Akiem Hicks, DL, Regina
———
WEST
Coach: Brad Childress
2 Duke Ihenaho, S, San Jose State
3 Rodney McLeod, DB, Virginia
4 Jarius Wright, WR, Arkansas
5 Lennon Creer, RB, Louisana Tech
6 Matt Prewitt Punter Kentucky Christian
7 Aaron Henry, S, Wisconsin
8 Austin Cassidy, S, Nebraska
9 Tyler Hansen, QB, Colorado
10 Darius Hanks, WR, Alabama
11 Ronnie Thomton, LB, Southern Mississippi
12 Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois
13 Dale Moss, WR, South Dakota State
14 Dan Persa, QB, Northwestern
16 Greg Zuerlein, PK, Missouri Western
17 Brandon Hardin, DB, Oregon State
19 Bryan Anger Punter California
21 Blake Gideon, S, Texas
23 Keith Tandy, DB, West Virginia
24 Trevin Wade, DB, Arizona
25 Devon Wylie, WR, Fresno State
26 Marc Tyler, RB, Southern California
27 Chris Greenwood, DB, Albion
28 Shaun Prater, DB, Iowa
30 Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky
31 Kentrell Lockett, DL, Mississippi
33 Brandon Marshall, LB, Nevada
34 Jerry Franklin, LB, Arkansas
40 Tyrone Crawford, DL, Boise State
43 Tank Carder, LB, Texas Christian
45 Arnaud Nadon, DL, Laval
47 David Paulson, TE, Oregon
49 Kaniela Tuipulotu, DL, Hawaii
52 Steven Johnson, LB, Kansas
53 Markus Zusevics, G, Iowa
54 Moe Petrus, C, Connecticut
56 Brandon Brooks, G, Miami (Ohio)
58 Josh Kaddu, LB, Oregon
61 Ben Heenan, G, Saskatchewan
70 Matt Reynolds, OT, Brigham Young
73 Ryan Miller, OT, Colorado
75 Al Netter, OT, Northwestern
76 Tom Compton, OT, South Dakota
77 Josh LeRibeus, G, Southern Methodist
78 David Snow, C, Texas
79 Marcel Jones, OT, Nebraska
82 Junior Hemingway, WR, Michigan
84 George Bryan, TE, North Carolina State
85 Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas
86 Kevin Koger, TE, Michigan
87 Cory Harkey, TE, UCLA
89 Tyler Shoemaker, WR, Boise State
90 Dominique Hamilton, DL, Missouri
91 Justin Francis, DL, Rutgers
95 Vaughn Meatoga, DL, Hawaii
97 Dajohn Harris, DL, Southern California

Season wrap-up story

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/sports11/01-15-2012-Steelers-season-wrap

Final Four set

The NFL's Final Four are now set with the Ravens set to visit New England in the AFC and the Giants traveling to San Francisco in the NFC.

There are a couple of interesting notes about that.

First is the fact the Steelers played three of the final four teams this season - and five of the eight final eight.

In fact, all five of Pittsburgh's losses this season came to teams that were in the final eight teams standing. Three of their five losses – and one victory - came against teams that reached the conference championship game.

Home teams went 7-1 in the first two rounds of the postseason, a far cry different than things had been in the previous four seasons when the home teams were just 21-19.

Finally, three of the final four teams employ more traditional offenses - ie. a fullback on a regular basis.

New England is the only team that uses the multiple tight end formations favored by the Steelers, though San Francisco certainly uses plenty of multiple tight end sets.

The 49ers remind me quite a bit of the 1994 Steelers. Great defense, solid running game and so-so quarterback.

Does that make Eli Manning Stan Humphries next weekend. We'll see about that.

© As I was talking about how I'd hate to see another Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh game in the Super Bowl, my wife remarked how silly the their parents were before the first meeting on Thanksgiving.

Jack Harbaugh and his wife, whose name escapes me, said something to the effect that watching their two sons coach against each other was one of the hardest things a parent could do.

Please.

Their sons are making millions to coach football teams. Every once in a while, they'll face each other.

But there are plenty of other tough things that parents go through on a daily basis that make what the Harbaugh family went through on Thanksgiving look like a day at the beach.

More odds and ends

Casey Hampton's partially torn ACL did not need surgery, but apparently Maurkice Pouncey's ankle did.

According to Kirk Kazienko on Twitter, he was on a flight with Pouncey out of Pittsburgh and the center's injured ankle was in a cast after having surgery.

© Sanity prevailed and Troy Polamalu's fine for using a team doctor's cell phone to calm his wife after getting his bell rung in a game earlier this season was waived upon appeal by the NFL.

© James Harrison was not fined or reprimanded for drawing a personal foul for a penalized late hit last week at Denver.

Could it be that what was called on Harrison wasn't a penalty?

© I like three of the four home teams to advance in this weekend's playoff action, but I do like Houston to make things interesting and cover against Baltimore.

The only road team I'm favoring this week is New Orleans, which will finally win the first road playoff game in team history at San Francisco.

Odds and end zones

Both offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau have told Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin they want to return for the 2012 season.

Cue the complaining, particularly about Arians.

© The Steelers have now played eight playoff games under Tomlin. All eight have gone over, including the 29-23 loss to the Broncos in which the over/under went off at 33.

File that away for future use.

© Hines Ward has told the P-G that he wants to play for the Steelers next season and is willing to take a pay cut to do so.

But, if a deal can't be worked out, Ward plans on trying to play somewhere else.

There are some on the coaching staff who don't want Ward back. In fact, one member of the staff didn't want him back in 2010.

But ownership wanted Ward with the team then and will likely want him back in 2012 as well.

Ward has been such a popular player for such a long time that the team will allow him to go out on his own terms and in a Steelers uniform. Unless, of course, Ward insists on having a greater role than what he played in the second half of 2012.

© I'll have my season wrap on the Steelers in Sunday's paper. Hopefully, it will be an interesting read for those who frequent this blog. It does answer a lot of the questions posed - many of which I haven't answered because I knew I was going to do so in the season wrap.

© My thoughts are with Joe Philbin and his family following the death of his son, Michael, whose body was found in a Wisconsin river earlier this week.

I did a story on Philbin, the Packers offensive coordinator, at the Super Bowl last season and found him very nice and accomodating.

Philbin is a 1984 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College here in Washington.

Monday news and notes

Mike Tomlin said today that given another opportunity, he'd defend Tim Tebow the same way.

I actually don't blame him. Tebow hadn't shown the ability to throw the ball like he did on Sunday in previous weeks.

And Ike Taylor had more than done his job throughout this season on the opposing team's No. 1 receiver.

There was no reason to believe Tebow would suddenly become John Elway and Taylor would no longer be able to tackle in the open field.

© A report surfaced today that Hines Ward told his teammates he was probably retiring.

That may have been the way Ward was leaning prior to Sunday's game – if the Steelers made a long run in the playoffs.

But something tells me he'll want to come back in 2012 if the Steelers want him. He won't want to go out with a loss and without a reception.

For the Steelers, bringing Ward – at a discounted price – back could make sense.

Ward will count $4.6 million against the 2012 cap with a base salary of $4 million. If he cuts that in half, having a veteran leader behind the disappearing Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and somewhat brittle Emmanuel Sanders could be a plus. That becomes even more critical if the Steelers are unable to bring Jerricho Cotchery back.

© The same thing could be said of James Farrior.

Farrior's base salary is just $2.8 million next season with a cap value of $3.8. If he's willing to take a cut, his veteran presence could be big.

© So where do the Steelers find the $15 to $20 million they are going to need to get under the cap next year?

Casey Hampton is scheduled to make $4.9 million in 2012 and has a cap value of just over $8 million. That might be a place to start, particularly if the team can get a young nose tackle in the draft.

Guard Chris Kemoeatu and his $3.5 million salary would be another place to look. Then you've got Bryant McFadden ($2.5 million) and Johnathan Scott ($2.2 million), Will Allen ($1.2 million) and Arnaz Battle ($1 million) that could also free up some cash.

The Steelers have been blessed in recent years to have some veteran backups. But those veteran backups also cost more money. The team is likely going to have to go with more youngsters behind their starters in 2012.

© If I had to bet, Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke will retire. Charlie Batch might as well, though the team could coax him to come back one more time if Byron Leftwich is not re-signed. William Gay probably played well enough this year to get himself a contract elsewhere (Detroit anyone?). Dennis Dixon, Mewelde Moore and Daniel Sepulveda won't be back.

Post-Denver thoughts

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about that game. Then again, I couldn't have been more wrong about a team all season long.

This Steelers' team really left me perplexed this season. And Sunday's game was a microcosm of everything that was wrong with it.

The offense marched up and down the field in the first quarter, yet had six points to show for it.

Then, after Denver hits the defense for a couple of plays to score in the second quarter, Ben Roethlisberger decides it's time to start chucking it deep. Only Mike Wallace can't come up with the catch - which was slightly underthrown – and the Steelers have to punt the ball back to Denver.

The Broncos again hit them for a long gain and score.

Roethlisberger comes out, gets hammered on a sack and then intercepted.

Wham, bam, thank you mam. A 6-0 advantage turns into a 17-6 disadvantage.

© Ike Taylor had a tough day, but you have to give some credit to Tim Tebow. He looked lost holding the ball against Kansas City last week and John Elway told him he should just let the ball fly.

Tebow apparently took that to heart and made some very nice throws.

His first long completion to Demaryious Thomas was an excellent throw, as was his TD pass to Eddie Royal.

After that, the Pittsburgh defense was caught in a tough place. They were bringing nine or 10 men to the line of scrimmage to stop the running game, but that was leaving the corners in one-on-one situations and Denver was winning those.

© Not having Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton and Max Starks really hurt the Steelers.

Losing Keisel and Hampton left the Steelers with just three active linemen.

Losing Starks left the Steelers with Jonathan Scott on the field.

The Steelers would have been without all three next weekend at New England, so it's just as well that they lost now instead of dragging the season out another week.

© If that was a late hit for roughing the passer on James Harrison as called, they should just quit playing football and make the games a seven-on-seven passing drill.

You think if anyone other than Harrison makes that hit that it's called? I don't.

© Some people were complaining about Harrison's hit on Eric Decker that knocked him out of the game. But that's what defenders are almost forced to do rather than take a chance at helmet-to-helmet contact - particularly Harrison.

He can't even take a chance that he'll come in contact with another player helmet-to-helmet for the remainder of his career without facing a lengthy suspension.

© The offense scored 23 points, but squandered points at the end of each half.

Some people will put that on offensive coordinator Bruce Arians – mostly because they hate Arians.

But it's Roethlisberger.

Instead of taking the short passes that are available, he constantly looks for the home run or bigger play.

Until he's content to take what the defense is giving rather than constantly trying to make the splash play, he won't be considered in the same breath as Tom Brady, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers.

© On a personal note, I think I made journalistic history today, writing both my game story and column on my Droid after my power cord died.

It made for a perfect ending to what was a tortuous season watching the Steelers muddle their way through a 12-4 season.

Is it possible to muddle your way through a 12-4 season? The Steelers apparently did.

Pouncey inactive

Maurkice Pouncey is inactive for the Steelers today.

Also inactive are Mewelde Moore, Ryan Clark, Cortez Allen, Mortty Ivy, Al Woods and Jamon Meredith.

Lots of news today, prediction

First and foremost today, my thoughts and bests wishes go out to Steelers running back coach Kirby Wilson who was burned in a fire in his home in Butler County early Friday morning.

According to sources, Wilson, 50, suffered burns on 30 to 50 percent of his body in the fire, which began in his kitchen.

Thankfully, the injuries are not considered life-threatening to Wilson, who has been with the Steelers since 2007.

© Maurkice Pouncey, who along with Troy Polamalu, was named a first-team All-Pro on Friday, will not play for the Steelers in Denver.

He has experienced some swelling in his injured ankle and did not practice at all this week.

Doug Legursky will get the start at center with Chris Kemoeatu at left guard.

LaMarr Woodley, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Keisel and Polamalu will all play.

© It's strange, but I didn't think either Pouncey or Polamalu had outstanding seasons.

Don't get me wrong, Polamalu was still very disruptive, even though he only had two interceptions.

But to me, him being a first-team All-Pro – meaning he was the best at his position – seems a bit of a stretch, especially when Ed Reed was on the second team.

Pouncey being named to the first team, however, is a bit more strange. Pouncey's play wasn't nearly as good in 2011 as it was in 2010. He also missed some games.

I know offensive linemen often get chosen based on their reputation, but I didn't see Pouncey as the best center in the league this season.

© This week's game at Denver looks like a layup for the Steelers. It seems like a layup for the Steelers.

That probably means it won't be a layup, particularly on the road.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Steelers will win. But it won't be easy.

Outside of the opening loss at Baltimore, the Steelers have played up or down to their competition all season.

This week will probably be no different.

But a quarterback who completes just 46 percent of his passes isn't going to beat the Steelers.

Pittsburgh will control Denver's running game, especially with guard Chris Kuper out of the lineup, and force Tim Tebow into some third-and-long plays.

That will spell doom.

The Steelers offense has struggled of late with Ben Roethlisberger hobbled, but should be good enough against Denver's 20th-ranked defense, which will be playing without safety Brian Dawkins.

Take the Steelers to win, 17-6

Pouncey sits out again, looking questionable

Maurkice Pouncey, James Harrison, Brett Keisel and Troy Polamalu were among the players who sat out practice again on Thursday and of that group, it appears that Pouncey is the only one who is a question mark to play this week at Denver.

Pouncey, like Ben Roethlisberger, tweaked his injured ankle at Cleveland - only his occured in the first half.

Pouncey said the injury is still bothering him a bit and the Steelers may keep him out of this one.

The return of Doug Legursky could help ease that loss. Legursky has practiced the past two days after sitting out with a shoulder injury the past two weeks.

© Ben Roethlisberger returned to practice Thursday for the Steelers. There were no setbacks.

© For the Broncos, safety Brian Dawkins, who missed last week's game, was out again today and is looking highly questionable to play against the Steelers.

That would be a big blow for Denver.

Wednesday news and notes

Ben Roethlisberger announced to the world today that he had suffered a "setback" in Sunday's 13-9 win at Cleveland.

Roethlisberger said the setback put him back a week in his recovery from a high ankle sprain. Even at that, however, playing Roethlisberger in Cleveland was the right move for Mike Tomlin to make.

Here's why:

Had Roethlisberger sat out the game against the Browns, he would have gone into Sunday's game at Denver not having played in three weeks.

That's too much inactivity and the Steelers may not have been able to handle the quarter or half it took for Roethlisberger to shake off the cobwebs.

In addition, had the Steelers started Charlie Batch and lost at Cleveland - and Cincinnati had beaten Baltimore – the Steelers would have looked pretty silly for not starting Roethlisberger, who was feeling good before the game against the Browns.

As it is, Roethlisberger said he feels as good now as he did prior to the game against St. Louis. That's better than he felt before the game at San Francisco.

© There's an undercurrent in the Pittsburgh locker room that Tim Tebow is getting too much attention this week.

Nobody is going to come right out and say it, but it's there if you read between the lines.

The Steelers feel like the Broncos defense has been winning games for the Broncos, not Tebow. They'll get a chance to end the Tebow mystique on Sunday.

© Isaac Redman said he's going to be a full-time back this week, playing all three downs.

That will change some next week if Mewelde Moore gets back, but rookie John Clay isn't going to help on third down at all.

And the Steelers will need Redman's third-down blocking as much as anything to help slow Denver's pass rush.

Tuesday with Tomlin

Mike Tomlin didn't hedge on this one: Ryan Clark will not play when the Steelers travel to Denver Sunday for the opening round of the NFL playoffs.

Clark will miss his second consecutive game in Denver after suffering through an episode of illness following playing there in 2007.

Clark carries the gene for sickle cell anemia and the high altitude there coupled with the physical strain of playing there that year forced him to miss the final 10 games of the season after he lost 30 pounds and had to have his gall bladder and spleen removed.

Ryan Mundy will get the start at free safety.

© In other news, Tomlin said the hamstring injury suffered by Keenan Lewis does not appear to be serious and he should play against the Broncos.

In fact, the only players Tomlin said were questionable were cornerback Cortez Allen (forearm) and running back Mewelde Moore.

© Doug Legursky is expected to return and start at left guard.

© If the Steelers add a running back because Moore is unable to play, it would be Chad Spann, a rookie from Northern Illinois who is on the practice squad.

2012 NFL Draft order

NFL Draft Order
By The Associated Press
At New York
April 26-28
First Round
Opponents
W L Pct Pct W L
1. Indianapolis Colts 2 14 .125 .539 138 118
2. St. Louis Rams 2 14 .125 .590 151 105
3. Minnesota Vikings 3 13 .188 .559 143 113
4. Cleveland Browns 4 12 .250 .531 136 120
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 12 .250 .551 141 115
6. Washington Redskins 5 11 .313 .477 122 134
7. Jacksonville Jaguars 5 11 .313 .500 128 128
8. Carolina Panthers-x 6 10 .375 .504 129 127
9. Miami Dolphins-x 6 10 .375 .504 129 127
10. Buffalo Bills 6 10 .375 .520 133 123
11. Kansas City Chiefs-x 7 9 .438 .512 131 125
12. Seattle Seahawks-x 7 9 .438 .512 131 125
13. Arizona Cardinals 8 8 .500 .469 120 136
14. Dallas Cowboys 8 8 .500 .473 121 135
15. Philadelphia Eagles 8 8 .500 .488 125 131
16. New York Jets 8 8 .500 .500 128 128
17. Oakland Raiders 8 8 .500 .504 129 127
18. San Diego Chargers 8 8 .500 .516 132 124
19. Chicago Bears 8 8 .500 .527 135 121
20. Tennessee Titans 9 7 .563 .461 118 138
21. Denver Broncos-y 8 8 .500 .520 133 123
22. Cincinnati Bengals-y 9 7 .563 .492 126 130
23. New York Giants-y 9 7 .563 .520 133 123
24. Houston Texans-y 10 6 .625 .453 116 140
25. Atlanta Falcons-y 10 6 .625 .480 123 133
26. Detroit Lions-y 10 6 .625 .535 137 119
27. Baltimore Ravens-y 12 4 .750 .477 122 134
28. Pittsburgh Steelers-y 12 4 .750 .492 126 130
29. New Orleans Saints-y 13 3 .813 .441 113 143
30. New England Patriots-y,x 13 3 .813 .449 115 141
31. San Francisco 49ers-y,x 13 3 .813 .449 115 141
32. Green Bay Packers-y 15 1 .938 .457 117 139

x-Subject to coin flip
y-Subject to playoffs

Post-Cleveland thoughts Part II

I'm really glad Hines Ward got his 1,000th catch. He's always been a good guy to talk to and has worked hard.

But I'm also glad it's over. Now, the Steelers can just play Jerricho Cotchery, who is a better receiving threat at this point in their respective careers.

It is a shame, though, that Ward's milestone catch came on a three-yard loss on a shovel pass.

He had a couple of big catches in this game, but his final stat line read five catches, 24 yards.

© It's amazing how Josh Cribbs has his best games against the Steelers.

Ike Taylor began the game by shadowing Greg Little. He finished it shadowing Cribbs, who finished with seven catches for 91 yards.

Cribbs also led the Browns with three special teams tackles.

Yet some bozo from New England was named the AFC's special teams representatives.

If there's a better special teams player in the NFL than Cribbs, I haven't seen him.

© The final stats show that Troy Polamalu had just two tackles in this game. But if there was a defender who made a bigger impact, I didn't see him.

© The Steelers had better hope those two fumbles by Isaac Redman didn't hurt his confidence. I spoke at length with him after the game and it didn't seem like they did, but you never know until he gets back out there again.

Without Rashard Mendenhall, Redman is going to have to shoulder the load.

© The games still must be played, but I wouldn't bet against a Pittsburgh at Baltimore AFC Championship, in a reversal of 2010.

I know, that's discounting the Patriots and counts on Houston beating Cincinnati.

But New England beat one playoff team this season - Denver – and doesn't own a victory over a team that finished with a winning record.

Pittsburgh and Baltimore are the two best teams in the AFC.

© The Steelers finished with seven sacks in eight road games this season. They'll have to fix that if they hope to get to the Super Bowl.

A healthy LaMarr Woodley opposite James Harrison will help.

© Much will be made about whether Ryan Clark plays or doesn't play in Denver.

If it's me, I'm not playing.

Clark wants to play, but it could be a life-or-death situation for him. He was the Steelers' leading tackler this season with 100 and has played solid football.

But none of his teammates will think any less of him if he doesn't play - at least not the ones I spoke with.

Having seen Clark in 2007 when he had to have his spleen removed after playing in Denver, his teammates know the hell he went through.

Plus, against Denver, is the free safety really all that important - even one who has a knack for filling the holes in the run defense?

© UPDATE: The Steelers have reportedly signed veteran cornerback Anthony Madison.

Madison, a special teams ace, would appear to be a replacement for Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, who have been the team's best special teams gunners this season.

Brown was put on IR a couple of weeks ago, while Allen suffered a forearm injury against Cleveland Sunday.

Happy new year from Cleveland

LaMarr Woodley leads the Steelers inactives today.

Also down are Mewelde Moore, Chris Carter, Doug Legursky, Al Woods, Jamon Meredith and Arnaz Battle.

Colt McCoy is inactive for Cleveland, as is starting right tackle Tony Pashos.

Artis Hicks will start for the Browns at RT opposite Ziggy Hood and Jason Worilds.

© The weather here is pretty horrid. Windy and rainy. The temperatures are dropping and the rain could turn to snow before this is over.