Staley by default?

Duce Staley and Bill Cowher both spoke after Thursday’s preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers as if there was nothing wrong with the Pittsburgh Steelers running back.

If they really think that, neither is as smart as I’ve given them credit for.

It’s obvious Staley is no longer hitting the hole like he once did. Heck, he’s not even hitting the hole like Jerome Bettis once did and Bettis was never exactly quick into the hole.

What Bettis did have, was that wiggle to go along with the power to do something even if he didn’t exactly get to the hole that was there.

We did see a little bit of power running out of Staley against the Panthers. More often than not, he drove forward through the tackle. But there were times when a faster running back would have taken the ball for a nice gain and Staley rumbled forward for a two-yard gain.

The question is, can the Steelers live with that in their backup running back?

The thinking here is yes, unless a better option comes along.

John Kuhn didn’t help distinguish himself by fumbling for the second time in this preseason, while Cedric Humes just hasn’t shown enough to be a better option than Staley.

Carolina’s Eric Shelton is rumored to be on his way out and ran well against the Steelers, but he was a second-round pick last year. The Steelers would likely have to work out some kind of trade to get him since they probably wouldn’t get a shot at him in waivers.

Nehemiah Broughton is another guy the Steelers liked last year when he was coming out of college who may not have a spot on Washington’s roster this season with the team’s trade for T.J. Duckett.

© Arnold Harrison may have won himself a job on this team with his performance against the Panthers.

Harrison had played well during this preseason and put the exclamation point on that by recording eight tackles and two sacks – along with a special teams tackle – against the Panthers.

It may help matters that Richard Seigler, who was also pushing for a spot, was in a walking boot after the game. That injury may allow the Steelers to sneak Seigler through waivers or even put him on injured reserve if they so choose.

© Harrison wasn’t the only young linebacker who did good things Thursday night. The team’s four leading tacklers in the game were Rian Wallace (9), Harrison and Andre Frazier (8) and Seigler (6).

Not bad for a team who was questioned for not taking a linebacker in the draft.

© Chris Kemoeatu continues to impress with his aggressiveness, but sometimes his nature gets the best of him.

His offensive facemask penalty on a play on which Kuhn fumbled got him a good tongue lashing from Cowher.

© I don’t think it matters who Cowher names the starter at free safety. They are only keeping the position warm for Anthony Smith, who continued to show off his skills as a big hitter against the Panthers.

When will that move come? Maybe as soon as the bye week.

© Did Omar Jacobs win a spot on the 53-man roster with his performance Thursday?

Maybe.

It’s more likely the team will still try to sneak him onto the practice squad, but Jacobs’ performance may have made that move a little more difficult. Before Thursday’s game, the Steelers could have put Jacobs on the practice squad and not worried about him getting picked up by anyone else. Now, who knows?

At the very least, Jacobs threw his name into the mix to stay on the 53-man roster. He also probably saved himself a phone call at least until Saturday. He won’t be among Friday’s cuts.

© I like the signing of Willie Parker to what should turn out to be a bargain deal.

Parker is going to have a big season both running with and catching the ball and would have cost the Steelers much more than what they paid him after this season.

It’s too bad cornerback Ike Taylor didn’t realize he would have saved himself a lot of sleepless nights by taking a similar deal. Taylor has to realize he is in a similar situation to Parker.

No matter how good they were last season, they have still only done it for one year. Sure, he’s confident in his ability to play well again.

But if he does indeed like Pittsburgh as much as he says, he has to realize the team wasn’t going to break the bank to sign him – not with the bank-breaking contracts the team is going to have to pay safety Troy Polamalu and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the near future.

Clark speaks out

Speaking with safety Ryan Clark Monday about the battle for the starting free safety position, he expressed a lot of frustration with the process. Read more about it in Tuesday's Observer-Reporter.

The Steelers released eight players Monday to trim their roster to the NFL-mandated minimum of 75. Among the rookies released were safety Zach Baker, kicker Mark Brubaker, offensive tackle Nick Hagemann and guard Grayling Love.

Also released were fullback Doug Easlick, center Kyle Andrews, linebacker Malcolm Postell and wide receiver Isaac West.

NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 players by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Linebacker Joey Porter was absent from practice Monday while dealing with tonsillitis. He is expected back today.

Streets of Philadelphia

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor wants to stay in Pittsburgh, but he wants an eight-digit signing bonus to do so.

But if Taylor, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season, wants to be paid like one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, he’d better start playing like one.

Not that Taylor isn’t solid in coverage, coming up to support the run and all of the other things the Steelers ask of their cornerbacks. In those areas, Taylor isn’t lacking.

But there’s a reason why an aging cornerback like Ty Law can hang around the NFL so long and still command big salaries and why, at this point, Taylor cannot. Law had 10 interceptions last season. Taylor had one.

Case and point why the Steelers are not going to give Taylor the kind of signing bonus he desires – even if somebody else may – came during the opening drive by the Eagles in their 16-7 preseason win over the Steelers.

Taylor got his hands on two Donovan McNabb passes in the first quarter, both of which came in Pittsburgh territory. He dropped both and insted of coming away with nothing, the Eagles went on to kick a field goal.

Taylor had excellent coverage on both plays. But if he truly wants to reach that next level as a corner, he’s got to catch those balls.

Here are some other thoughts from Friday’s preseason game:

© Taylor wasn’t the only player on the Steelers’ first-team defense who wasn’t exactly in midseason form.

Pittsburgh’s vaunted run defense wasn’t exactly up to snuff. Correll Buckhalter had 28 yards on six carries working against the first-team defense on Philadelphia’s first two possessions, breaking some tackles along the way.

The defense also missed several tackles in the secondary after catches.

Despite what many think, head coach Bill Cowher doesn’t exactly run a tough training camp and there’s not a lot of hitting.

It showed Friday night.

© When the Steelers selected Anthony Smith with the first of their two third-round draft picks – and second-overall selection – many wondered about the pick. That was especially true considering there were several big-name safeties still on the draft board at that point.

Three games into this preseason, nobody is questioning the Steelers’ selection of Smith any longer. Now, they are wondering exactly when Cowher is going to stop messing around with Ryan Clark and Tyrone Carter at free safety and insert Smith into the starting lineup.

That may indeed happen at some point this season. But in the meantime, Smith is going to continue making plays as he did Friday night on punt coverage, timing his hit up perfectly to level Philadelphia return man J.R. Reed. That one will go down as one of the hits of the year even though it happened in the preseason.

© Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is hooking up with running back Willie Parker quite a bit in the passing game this preseason. Playing just one series, Parker had three carries and three catches.

Part of the reason for that was to help slow Philadelphia’s pass rush, which the offensive line was having trouble with.

But Parker is going to be a huge part of the offense this season.

© Any thoughts the Steelers had about keeping a third quarterback were quickly erased when Cowher had to watch Omar Jacobs and Shane Boyd stumble around the field again against the Eagles.

At this point, there’s no guarantee either of those two will even make the practice squad. Drew Henson was released by Dallas earlier this week. He’s got to be better than Jacobs and Boyd.

© Chris Gardocki averaged 46.0 yards on his two punts, placing one inside the 20. Mike Barr saw his only kick sail 53 yards.

Barr was the holder on Jeff Reed’s first field goal attempt, a 50-yard attempt on which Barr appeared to have trouble getting the ball down clean.

Gardocki held on Reed’s successful PAT in the first half and for his 47-yard field goal attempt in the second half. Reed missed that one, but it did not appear to be because of a poor hold.

It appears that Barr may be a little bit better punter than Gardocki, but Gardocki is a better holder. Advantage Gardocki.

© The Steelers finally got a chance to run Duce Staley in a short-yardage situation, but the second-team offensive line and fullback John Kuhn forgot to block anybody on the play.

That’s not to say Staley would have succeeded in the fourth-and-one situation, but he really didn’t have a chance on that one.

© Staley finished with 21 yards on 11 carries. Verron Haynes had 15 yards on five attempts.

The Steelers should be scouring the waiver wire once the cuts start happening to look for a possible third quarterback and another running back.

© Ricardo Colclough, meet Greg Lewis. Greg Lewis, meet Ricardo Colclough and welcome to the end zone.

Bryant McFadden had to be looking at Colclough chasing Lewis to the end zone and wondering exactly what he has to do to beat that guy out.

© For some reason, the Steelers feel that Jonathan Dekker is their third-best tight end.

After watching him bat down a Charlie Batch pass in the first half like it was on fire, fail to block anybody on Staley’s fourth-down attempt and then get lit up in the fourth quarter on another catch attempt, I, for the life of me, can’t figure out why.

Cripes, what’s Matt Cushing doing these days?

And then there were none

Here is it good readers, the final practice report of this, the 2006 training camp of the defending world champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

For those of you who are new to this blog, reporters are permitted into the team’s practices during at their offices on the South Side. We’re just not allowed to give you a detailed report of what happens like we are from training camp.

I'll still be blogging throughout the season with whatever info I dig up here or there, but detailed practice reports are out until next year.

So without any further ado, here is what happened at today’s session here at Saint Vincent College:

With Deshea Townsend out with a broken right thumb, Ricardo Colclough was surprisingly in the starting lineup. Apparently it was not only a surprise to the media, but to second-year corner Bryant McFadden as well.

“I guess it’s out of my hands,” said an obviously disappointed McFadden. “Coach (Bill) Cowher told me after practice that it didn’t have anything to do with my play. That he was just making this move based on feel. I’m disappointed. I’m a competitor and I want to be out there as much as possible. But there’s nothing I can do but play football when I do get out there.”

The team practiced in shells only today as it spent most of the session preparing for Friday night’s preseason game at Philadelphia.

As he has done for a good part of the last two weeks, right guard Kendall Simmons took some snaps at center, with Chris Kemoeatu moving into the starting lineup at guard. Simmons, however, had his first miscue at center, as he and second-string quarterback Charlie Batch botched a snap.

There were also some changes in the second team offensive line, as Trai Essex slid back outside to left tackle, with Kemoeatu playing left guard, rookie Marvin Philip at center, Barrett Brooks at right guard and rookie Willie Colon at right tackle. Colon looked out of place at left tackle last week and the team is likely readying Essex to fill the third tackle spot while also getting Kemoeatu prepared to be the third guard.

Strong safety Troy Polamalu, sporting a nifty pair of green and gray argyle socks throughout practice, made an outstanding diving interception in the end zone when the team began working on 7-on-7 red zone with the first team offense against the first team defense.

Colclough, apparently wearing a pair of shorts that was too big, stripped down to his undershorts for one play before Townsend gave him his shorts, causing several guys on the sidelines to yell, “Thanks Shea.” Thanks Shea indeed.

Linebacker James Farrior tipped a Ben Roethlisberger pass intended for tight end Heath Miller and the ball caromed into the air just in front of the goal posts. Polamalu came from at least 10 yards away to make the diving pick.

Roethlisberger rebounded, though, throwing TD passes to Nate Washington and Cedrick Wilson. Washington’s TD came working against safety Ryan Clark and corner Chidi Iwuoma. Wilson’s catch came with safety Mike Logan draped over his back.

Lee Mays had a nice one-handed grab along the sidelines from Omar Jacobs, while Santonio Holmes made a beautiful grab in traffic at the goal line from Jacobs for a score.

The team was very loose today in its final full practice of this training camp. With just a walkthrough Thursday, the road race back to Pittsburgh will begin around noon.

Wide receivers Hines Ward and Isaac West, tight end Jerame Tuman and center Chukky Okobi joined Townsend on the sidelines, though Okobi again centered for the 7-on-7 drills.

I hope you all have enjoyed your daily looks into training camp and I hope you continue to stop by as I offer tips on what I'm seeing around the NFL.

As the jaw juts

The Pittsburgh Steelers held their next-to-last full practice of this training camp here at Saint Vincent College and head coach Bill Cowher was less than pleased with how things went.

Cowher called the team together in the middle of the practice field for several minutes Tuesday in the middle of the session after a sluggish effort by the team in the 7-on-7 passing drills and an earlier team portion.

Things picked up considerably after Cowher’s tongue lashing as the intensity level, in particular, rose. With the end of camp in sight, Cowher said he just had a little heart-to-heart with the team about their current state as he sees it.

Wide receiver Hines Ward again tried to practice today but was still unable to complete the practice. His status for Friday’s preseason game in Philadelphia is very doubtful, though he said he’ll try to practice again Wednesday.

Linebacker James Harrison had his foot stepped on during position drills and was carted off for X-rays, which came back negative. Harrison later returned to practice.

Part of the reason for Cowher’s heart-to-heart talk was no doubt the mistakes some of the rookies are still making.

On one play of prep for the Philadelphia game, quarterback Omar Jacobs turned the wrong way on a handoff, going to his right while the offensive line and running back Duce Staley went left. Cowher had the team re-huddle and run the play again.

Later in the 7-on-7 drills, wide receiver Santonio Holmes turned out toward the sidelines when quarterback Charlie Batch threw a hook to the inside. Corner Bryant McFadden easily picked off the pass.

Rookie tight end Jonathan Dekker then dropped an easy pass over the middle with nobody around him, a play that was quickly followed up by rookie running back Cedric Humes dropping a ball in the flats with nobody around him.

After another session of game prep, the team worked on some red zone offense and defense. The standouts from that were Ben Roethlisberger overthrowing a wide open Cedrick Wilson on a flag pattern. Wilson had beaten corner Anthony Madison. Holmes made a nice adjustment for a touchdown from Batch, coming back for the ball. Deshea Townsend picked off Shane Boyd on a pass for Lee Mays. Running back John Kuhn fumbled on a short-yardage run.

In a one-minute drill at the end of practice, the first team offense and defense lined up against each other, with the offense prevailing as Roethlisberger moved the team into field goal range at the 32.

Defensive end Aaron Smith nearly picked off a screen pass to Verron Haynes on the second play of the drive. Roethlisberger and Wilson also failed to connect on a long TD pass after Wilson had gotten behind McFadden with a double move and a Roethlisberger pump fake. Wilson appeared to lose the ball in the sun.

Boyd didn’t last long in his attempt at the hurry-up. Throwing an interception to rookie safety Anthony Smith to end practice on his third pass attempt.

Feeling Minnesota

Is it just me, or did the Steelers always seem to have problems with Chester Taylor when he was in Baltimore as well?

And while we’re on the subject of Taylor, why on earth would you trade one purple uniform for another. Gack!

© Ryan Clark looked a lot like Chris Hope at free safety against the Vikings. He came up strong a few times, but also missed some tackles.

No wonder head coach Bill Cowher doesn’t feel the team will miss a beat without Hope in there.

© You Nate Washington doubters out there can start writing your apology notes any time now. The kid’s going to be a factor this season.

© The Steelers’ battle for a possible third tight end position is looking embarrassing.

Fifth-round draft pick Charles Davis looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane.

Jon Dekker keeps getting run over like a boy playing with men.

And if Isaac Smolko played Saturday, he didn’t make himself apparent in doing so.

Right now, the top candidate for that third tight end spot is offensive lineman Trai Essex. Essex did go to Northwestern as a tight end before going on the cheese pizza diet.

© Branden Joe played a lot against the Vikings, not only in as the team’s second fullback, but also on special teams. Right now, I’d say he’s the frontrunner to be the team’s fifth running back, especially after delivering some solid blows as a wedge buster.

© Speaking of wedge busters, Chris Kemoeatu delivered the blow of the game working as a buster of the wedge, driving his man five yards backward - in the air - on a second quarter kickoff.

© The Steelers are going to only keep two quarterbacks. Omar Jacobs and Shane Boyd were pretty bad again Saturday – though Jacobs did show a little promise despite having to call a timeout on the second play of the third quarter. The only thing they had going for them was that the Vikings’ Mike McMahon played in the game as well. McMahon is awful.

It just goes to show, you can find a guy like that to be your third quarterback anywhere.

The bet here is that the Steelers put Jacobs on their practice squad and if somebody else signs him, the Steelers won’t mind. At least they won’t have to deal with looking at that funky release any more.

© Tarvaris Jackson, now there’s a young quarterback to develop. Minnesota got ripped for trading two third round picks to the Steelers for a second round selection with which they took Jackson.

Seems like a trade that will work out for both teams. The Vikings got a kid who looks like their QB of the future. The Steelers got Anthony Smith and Willie Reid.

© Keeping two quarterbacks and two tight ends makes it easier for the Steelers to keep guys like linebackers Arnold Harrison and Richard Seigler or Joe.

© I had questions about Travis Kirschke’s status earlier in this training camp. I don’t any longer. Right now, he and Chris Hoke are the only two backup defensive linemen worth anything.

Rodney Bailey, Shaun Nua and Orien Harris look overmatched, while Lee Vickers appears to have fallen completely out of the picture.

Roethlisberger will play

It appears as though Ben Roethlisberger will play in tonight's preseason game against Minnesota.

Afternoon delight

The last two-a-day practice now over, the Steelers ran off to their families after what Coach Bill Cowher called two great days of practice.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit his hand on a shoulder pad on the second-to-last play of which he particiapted, but Cowher believes it to be a minor injury. That won't stop the local TV stations from breaking into their re-runs of Family Feud with a news flash, however, so beware.

The practices have gotten better for the most part, but there are certainly some players separating themselves from the pack in the battle for the final few roster spots.

Linebacker Arnold Harrison continues to flash from his outside spot and was the star of what will likely be the last back-on-backs drill of this camp.

Harrison, doing his best James Harrison impression, hit rookie tight end Charles Davis so hard he not only jarred his helmet off, he knocked a contact out of his eye. Harrison then finished the drill on his last chance by beating starting running back Willie Parker.

In the battle of mouths, Verron Haynes beat Joey Porter, but not before Porter pushed the quarterback for the drill, none other than Cowher. Not to be outdone, James Harrison bumped into Cowher two plays later. No respect for the outgoing coach, perhaps?

Santonio Holmes, Willie Reid, Quincy Morgan and Ricardo Colclough were the deep men when the team worked on kickoff returns and coverage.

During scout team drills, Roethlisberger and Nate Washington made rookie corner Anthony Madison look silly as the quarterback rolled to his right and Washington took off down the sideline. Madison stayed at home and Washington caught the ball 15 yards behind him for an easy score.

Later, with a pass eerily similar to the one Tom Brady threw against the Steelers in the AFC Championship two years ago to Deion Branch, Roethlisberger hooked up with Cedrick Wilson deep working against Chidi Iwuoma.

Apparently feeling sorry for beleaguered cornerback Colclough, Shane Boyd took matters into his own hands, rolled to his right on one play and threw the ball directly to Colclough, who was in zone coverage with no one else around. By the way, Colclough looks much more comfortable in zone coverage than in man. That was stressed a couple of plays later when Willie Reid burned Colclough down the sideline for a nice gain on a well-thrown pass by Omar Jacobs.

During the final team session, Holmes showed a little hotdog when he caught a deep pass working against Anthony Smith and Bryant McFadden. Holmes reached up on the run and took the ball away from Smith, then held the ball aloft as he ran into the end zone. Better watch that one kid.

Boyd ran the only one-minute drill at the end of practice and successfully maneuvered the team into field-goal range. There was not a second-team one-minute drill.

Sean Morey missed practice and has a cast on his left hand. Cowher said it's nothing serious and that Morey should be back Thursday. Since he's not expected to catch the ball anyway, playing with a cast shouldn't be a problem.

Hines Ward, Jerame Tuman, Duce Staley and Clint Kriewaldt also sat out practice; Ward and Tuman with hamstring injuries; Staley and Kriewaldt to rest their tired bones.

A couple of other observerations: Cedrick Humes still runs too high and is going to get his head taken off; Lee Vickers just isn't physical enough to play at this level. He has the athleticism, but needs to put on more muscle; The next guy to block James Harrison one- on-one on a regular basis will be the first; and Trai Essex looked good in one-on-one blocking drills today, maybe the best of all the second-string linemen.

Last two-a-day

Sorry for nothing yesterday. Seemed to have been a problem with the blogger company.

Coming off his best practice of this training camp here at Saint Vincent College, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Quincy Morgan apparently felt he had done enough.

He took the morning off Wednesday as the Steelers completed the first session of their last two-a-day of this training camp.

We won’t know until later on this afternoon what Morgan’s ailment was. Maybe he was told he would no longer get to line up opposite Ricardo Colclough.

Colclough picked up where he left off Tuesday afternoon as two of the team’s first four plays of red zone 9-on-7 went for touchdowns to receivers working against the beleaguered corner.

The first was a nice pass by Ben Roethlisberger to Nate Washington on the second play of the series – Deshea Townsend had picked off Roethlisberger’s first attempt, a pass to Cedrick Wilson. Colclough was a good two steps behind Washington on the pass.

The next play was another touchdown, this one a Roethlisberger pass to rookie tight end Charles Davis on a corner route. Davis was so open that it was a stretch to single out any one player who was supposed to be covering him.

Charlie Batch then came on and found rookie receiver Willie Reid working against Colclough for a score. Reid really has a chance to be something special in this league with his speed and instincts. It may not happen this season, but the kid could wind up being better than first-round pick Santonio Holmes.

Batch followed up that touchdown pass by finding tight end Isaac Smolko in the end zone working against linebacker Rian Wallace.

Batch then looked Reid’s direction again, this time rolling to his right. Reid broke off his route, stopped on a dime and came back across the end zone for a TD in front of the goal post.

Omar Jacobs was up next and he hooked up with Lee Mays at the corner of the pylon, just slipping a pass past Ike Taylor for a score. Taylor was in good position on the play, but Jacobs put the ball in a spot where only Mays could catch it.

Walter Young completed the offense’s scoring in the drill by going up over rookie Anthony Madison to pull in a touchdown pass from Shane Boyd.

It was the only highlight of the day for Young, who also dropped a pair of easily catchable passes from Jacobs later in team drills.

Linebacker Clark Haggans returned to practice after taking Tuesday off for personal reasons. In addition to Morgan, also not practicing were wide receivers Hines Ward and Isaac West and tight end Jerame Tuman.

Center Chukky Okobi looked better than anyone should expect a guy who had neck surgery last week to look. Okobi was practicing coming out of a stance during the session and even bobbed his head to the music - presumable his own rap CD – playing on his digital player.

Post-game wrap

The Steelers lost their preseason opener at Arizona Saturday night. But there was plenty more to look at other than the outcome of the game. First and foremost was the play of running back Willie Parker.

Much of the focus from Saturday's opening preseason game was on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s performance and rightfully so.

But as good as Roethlisberger looked Saturday, Willie Parker was the player who caught my eye.

Parker only got three carries in the Steelers' 21-13 loss at Arizona, but they were three impressive carries for 12 yards. He also made a big 7-yard catch off of a scramble by Roethlisberger.

What impressed me about Parker? His patience waiting for a hole to develop. That was something that wasn't always evident with Parker last season when he often just took the ball and ran as fast as he could.

That was something that drove the coaching staff in North Carolina crazy and was something they couldn't Parker to do. Now, Parker is watching and waiting, turning on the jets only after the hole opens up.

A little maturity goes a long way.

He's going to have a huge season.

• Mike Barr averaged a healthy 49.0 yards per attempt on his three punts. Chris Gardocki boomed his lone kick 59 yards.

A little competition goes a long way.

I'm still convinced Gardocki is the better holder of the two and that will be the deciding factor as to which punter makes the final roster.

• Any question as to how Brett Keisel would hold up against the run was erased when he blew up Arizona's first running play of the game.

Keisel will be fine.

But replacing Keisel as a backup could be problematic.

The Steelers went with Travis Kirschke and Rodney Bailey as the second-team defensive ends against the Cardinals and they made J.J. Arrington look like he was the second coming of Edgerrin James. Kirshke's back remains problematic and Bailey's injury history since leaving the Steelers a couple of years ago is as well.

The third-team ends, Shaun Nua and Lee Vickers, got pushed around late in the game like they were on skates. Both look like they need to put on more weight.

• I wasn't nearly as concerned with some of the third-and-long conversions as KDKA color analyst Edmund Nelson seemed to be.

It being preseason and all, the Steelers did very little blitzing and got little pressure on Kurt Warner when he was in there. History has shown that if you hit Warner a couple of times, he folds.

History has also shown that the Steelers will get pressure on the quarterback when the games start to count.

• What the heck was Ricardo Colclough doing back deep for the first two kickoffs? Was he providing veteran leadership? Hadn’t he made his quota for dropped kicks for the week?

• Santonio Holmes caught four passes for 32 yards, while Willie Reid had four receptions for 30. Those aren't exactly impressive numbers, but both young wideouts had big catches on third down and showed they could be factors this season.

• Cedrick Wilson needs to worry more about catching the ball and less about getting the officials' attention when he feels he's been interfered with.

On the opening play of the second quarter, Arizona corner Antrell Rolle obviously interfered with Wilson along the sideline.

The ball was still in the air and Wilson was already waiving for a flag. Rolle, meanwhile, nearly picked off the ball, which Wilson was paying no attention to.

It was something Wilson also did at times last season and it annoyed me.

What if Rolle had picked off the ball there and the officials hadn’t thrown the flag?

Wilson needs to see the play through its completion before he starts looking for the flag. You never know when they aren't going to throw it.

• Now we know what the Steelers liked about Anthony Smith.

You can talk about 40 times and all of that. But the kid flat out makes plays.

Will he beat out Tyrone Carter or Ryan Clark for the starting free safety spot? Nope. He's still a little too raw for that this year.
But next season, all bets are off.

• Play-by-play guy Bob Pompeani actually said at one point that Willie Colon was the best lineman in the Hofstra offense last season. I know that Hofstra is a football factory and all, but I'd guess Colon wasn't just the school's best lineman last season, but in school history.

I know that you're searching for things to say when you're doing that job, but come on Pomp, you're better than that.

• Shane Boyd is wearing Tommy Maddox's No. 8 jersey, but he looked a lot more like another former Steelers' QB Saturday. In fact, if Boyd had put on a No. 10 jersey, I'd have sworn I was watching Kordell Stewart play again - without the breakaway speed.

Boyd finished 8 of 16 for 67 yards and an interception and also scrambled four times for 16 yards.

Omar Jacobs, who is battling Boyd for the No. 3 QB position, is still struggling getting in and out of the huddle. I thought Bill Cowher’s head was going to explode when Jacobs failed to get a play off before the two-minute warning at the end of the second half. But the kid has a heck of a lot more upside than Boyd.

Boyd wasn't any better in his clock management at the end of the first half. He threw an interception that was negated by an illegal hands to the face penalty.

It's only one game, but I'd keep Jacobs over Boyd.

If the Steelers cut Jacobs, he'd likely be picked up by another team. If they cut Boyd, nobody is likely to do so.

• Richard Siegler will soon move ahead of Rian Wallace on the team's depth chart at inside linebacker. Sigler, a 49ers' castoff, is outstanding in coverage and just looks more explosive than Wallace, a fifth-round draft pick last year.

Final tuneup

I focused on the team's rotation on the defensive line today at practice since that appears to be shaping up as one of the tougher cuts for the Steelers this year.

Defensive end Travis Kirshke sat out the practice presumably with his bothersome back. It’s getting to be a habit and he’s really opening the door for somebody to beat him out.

Rodney Bailey and Shaun Nua worked as the ends on the second-team defense, with Lee Vickers also seeing some snaps there.

Vickers and Orien Harris worked as the third-team ends, with Scott Paxson on the nose. It seems to be a sign that Vickers may be ahead of Harris at this point. Either that, or it’s a sign that Vickers is pushing Nua, whom he replaced at right end on the second Okie when he came in.

Bailey was on the nose in the team’s No. 2 quarter defense and may be moving past Kirshke in the battle for a backup position. The team figures to keep at least one of the two veterans, but probably not both.

Linebacker Joey Porter, who had said Wednesday that he would take things slowly in his comeback from offseason knee surgery, felt confident enough to go out and run pretty much a full practice schedule.

Porter returned to the first-team defense during 11-on-11 drills, though he did sit out the last portion of practice when the team was working on some things it would do against Arizona.

Ben Roethlisberger looked great in the 7-on-7 red zone, completing all four of his passes, three for touchdowns. Two of those scores went to Nate Washington, the first against linebacker Clark Haggans, the second against safety Mike Logan. Both passes were over the middle in front of the goal post and Washington made leaping catches both times.

Roethlisberger’s third TD pass went to Quincy Morgan, who had a couple of drops today. Roethlisberger made a nice pump fake and hit Morgan on a slant against Bryant McFadden.

Hump day

A crowd of 24,000 was on hand to witness the spectacle that has become a Pittsburgh Steelers practice here at Saint Vincent College Wednesday night.

The crowd on hand was treated to linebacker Joey Porter’s return to the football field for the first time in pads since his offseason knee surgery.

Porter worked only in the team seven-on-seven passing drills, sometimes simulating a pass rush, other times dropping back into coverage.

The Pro Bowl linebacker looked good dropping back and made some nice cuts. He seems to be on schedule to return to full practice, maybe as early as next week.

Other good news included head coach Bill Cowher informing the throng of media in attendance that center Chukky Okobi’s injury isn’t as serious as initially thought. Okobi had surgery Wednesday morning and will only be out four to eight weeks. The initial prognosis had been the season and maybe a career-ending injury.

Hines Ward continued to sit out with his sore left hamstring and was joined by Issac West (bone bruise), tackle Trai Essex (groin) and fullback Branden Joe. Joe was a new addition to the injury list. He’s out with a hamstring pull.

Guard Kendall Simmons took some snaps at center with Charlie Batch before practice, but head coach Bill Cowher said that it was solely in case of a rainy day.

Center Tim Brown worked at left guard with the second team line in place of Essex, while Willie Colon slid back over to right tackle today as the team worked on some different things to prepare for its game Saturday at Arizona. Barrett Brooks was at left tackle. Chris Kemoeatu was the right guard, while rookie Marvin Philip was the center.

Tyrone Carter was the starting free safety with the first-team defense, while the second-team defensive line consisted of Rodney Bailey, Shaun Nua and Chris Hoke. Where Travis Kirshke fits into the equation remains to be seen.

The hit of the day belonged to linebacker James Harrison (who else?). Harrison feigned covering a slot receiver against the scout team and blitzed, running through rookie running back Cedric Humes, who was knocked to his back.

Humes, however, seems to be running harder since his tongue lashing by Cowher earlier this week.

Rookie Santonio Holmes is still plagued by an occasional drop, but had a nice leaping catch from Charlie Batch along the sideline.

Not to be outdone, rookie Willie Reid, who has, by my unofficial count, failed to drop a pass this entire camp, made a beautiful leaping catch of an underthrown pass from Omar Jacobs working against Ike Taylor. Reid’s a keeper.

Shayne Boyd threw the only pick in the practice moments later, hitting linebacker Clint Kreiwaldt in the stomach at the goal line. The pass was so errant it was hard to figure out who it was to.

Tuesday afternoon

he Pittsburgh Steelers were dealt ther first major injury blow Tuesday when they learned center Chukky Okobi may be lost for the season because of a ruptured disk in his neck.

Steelers head coach Bill Cowher said the injury, which occured sometime last week and has been bothering the backup center for the past week, may even be career-threatening.

Because of the injury to Okobi, rookie Marvin Philip takes a step up the depth chart and even saw time with the first team offense Wednesday afternoon.

Philip has looked good at times and the team likes his potential. He was center for both groups in the two-minute offense drill and looked to have some problems with his long snaps.

Hines Ward tried to return to practice early, but left after some team drills as his hamstring is still tight. Cowher said it wasn’t a setback, however, and that Ward was just seeing how things felt.

Cowher did say that linebacker Joey Porter will likely be activated off the PUP list Wednesday and will practice for the first time in this camp. Porter has been out since having offseason knee surgery.

Of note are the fact that Mike Barr again worked with Jeff Reed as a holder and we’ve now learned he has a legitimate shot of beating out Chris Gardocki for the punting job.

Also, Rian Wallace’s spot as the team’s fourth inside linebacker is also in jeopardy from Richard Sielger, who has surpassed him on the depth chart.

The Steelers head coach was in a better mood today than he was for yesterday afternoon’s session, but did take some time out to yell at defensive linemen Shaun Nua and Rodney Bailey.

“Come on Nua, show me something,” Cowher yelled to Nua moments after chastisting Bailey to, “stay low and come off the ball.”

Both are battling for a backup spot on the defensive line.

On the first play of team 11-on-11 drills, Heath Miller made a beautiful one-handed catch of a Ben Roethlisberger pass in the flats. He took one step, however, and had the ball stripped by James Harrison. Deshea Townsend picked the ball up and easily scored.

On the ensuing play, Roethlisberger threw deep to Cedrick Wilson, but was intercepted by Troy Polamalu, who made a nice over the shoulder running catch.

Rookie wideout Santonio Holmes continues to have his ups and downs.

On one play, he dropped a perfect pass down the sideline from Charlie Batch. On the next play, seemingly the same pattern on the other side of the field, Holmes caught the pass.

The play of the day belonged to Ike Taylor, who made a leaping deflection of what appeared to be a perfect Batch pass to tight end Charles Davis near the front corner of the end zone.

Shane Boyd and Omar Jacobs ran the two-minute offenses, with neither leading their unit to a score.

Boyd was picked off at the 20 by safety Mike Logan after overthrowing Willie Reid to end the first session.

In the second session, the defense gave Jacobs a little taste of crowd noise getting the fans in attendance to yell as well. The drill ended when Jacobs threw incomplete to Davis on fourth down from the 36.

A new week

After a morning session in which the offense looked to do no wrong, the Steelers got under head coach Bill Cowher's skin Monday afternoon.

At one point, Cowher really dressed down rookie running back Cedric Humes, yelling at seveth-round draft pick for not running hard and looking to see where the defense is at.

Humes may be blowing an opportunity here and really needs to run hard Saturday at Arizona.

After a good start, rookie quarterback Omar Jacobs has been struggling lately.

At one point Monday, on the ensuing play after Cowher had admonished the team, yellling for, "Somebody to hit somebody," Jacobs did just that, hitting linebacker Richard Siegler right in the stomach with the ball for an interception over the middle.

I doin't think that was what the coach had in mind.

Rookie Willie Colon was playing left tackle today and looks to have moved ahead of Trai Essex and Barrett Brooks on the depth chart. Essex will be out at least a week after injuring his groin midway through the afternoon session. Brooks, meanwhile, has problems of his own after his weekend arrest.

Siegler has really flashed in coverage and could make this team as an inside linebacker over Rian Wallace, who is showing very little.

Saturday in the park

With Hines Ward nursing a sore hamstring, Nate Washington to move into the starting lineup opposite Cedrick Wilson and stole the show early in the Saturday practice by making a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch from Ben Roethlisberger for about an 80-yard touchdown pass. Roethlisberger’s pass was a laser and went at least 60 yards in the air as Washington outran Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark deep.

The offense seemed to throw deep a little more often today after settling for short stuff earlier in the week.

Wilson also got deep for a 50-plus yard touchdown pass from Charlie Batch against Deshea Townsend and Troy Polamalu. Polamalu told Townsend it was his fault for not picking up Wilson in coverage.

Lee Mays made a great catch along the sideline on a pass from Omar Jacobs. Mays was working against rookie Anthony Madison, who also drew a flag for illegal contact from the NFL officials who were helping out at the practice.

Jacobs was picked off by Bryant McFadden, who had two interceptions on the day, on a pass over the middle when rookie wide receiver Wiilie Reid fell down.

McFadden later picked off an overthrow by Charlie Batch, who was also going to Reid. It’s possible Reid also cut that pattern too short.

There was one fight in practice today as center Chukky Okobi and linebacker Andre Frazier squared off. Willie Colon, of all people, was trying to play peacemaker in the skirmish.

Frazier looks outstanding in pass rushing drills and just plain mauled Heath Miller in tight end-linebacker drills. He took Miller and put him on his back during the drill. Frazier added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason and it appears that it was a very good move.

In the goal-line drill, the first-team defense ruled the day again.

Of interest, however, was that Willie Parker’s name has also been thrown into the short-yardage back debate.

Parker got the first two carries in the drill, being stopped for no gain on first down and a gain of three yards on second. Both runs were between the tackles.

Verron Haynes was stopped for a two-yard loss on third down and then failed to get into the end zone on a dive through the line to the 1 on fourth down.

Duce Staley was in the backfield with the second unit, which included linebacker James Harrison at fullback and defensive end Brett Keisel at tight end.

Staley carried for a one-yard gain on first down and Batch threw a four-yard TD pass to Harrison in the front corner of the end zone on second down to get the score. Keisel was also open in the back corner of the end zone on the play.

In addition to Ward, linebacker James Farrior was limited by his sore back Saturday, skipping the team drills. Add wide receiver Isaac West to the list of walking wounded as well. West has a bone bruise in his knee. Linebackers Joey Porter and Mike Kudla, and wide receiver Eugene Baker also remain out.

Day 6

The sun wasn’t too hot. The crowd was large and boisterous. And the hitting was heavy as the Steelers held their best practice of the first week here at St. Vincent College.

Linebacker James Harrison stole the show early during a backs on backers blocking drill, running straight through Willie Parker.

“Down goes Frazier,” yelled sidelined linebacker Joey Porter as the rest of his teammates hooted and hollered over the hit.

As good as Harrison’s hit was, it wasn’t enough to salvage a win in the drill for the defense, which lost the one-on-one drill that pits a rushing linebacker against a pass-protecting running back. The offense won the event, 7-6, when fullback Dan Kreider took on Harrison head on in a collision that sounded like a couple of bighorn sheep crashing together head to head.

That certainly got the juices flowing and the team held a spirited 9-on-7 inside running drill soon thereafter. As head coach Bill Cowher said, “This is who we are, right here,” as the team lined up for the drill.

Malcom Postell, the former Pitt linebacker who was cut in the spring and brought back just this week, flashed a little in both drills and keeps showing up every day with a play here and there. Two other linebackers who have flashed in the team drills have been linebacker Arnold Harrison and Richard Siegler.

Harrison and Postell just keep on blowing up running plays in the backfield and Siegler looks strong in coverage.

Maybe that’s because the guys they are playing against aren’t very good, but they’ve caught my eye.

In the one-on-one linemen vs. backers and defensive linemen drill, Clark Haggans and Willie Colon were matched up again a couple of times, something that bore watching after their near fight earlier this week. On the first series, Colon got his hand too high into Haggans’ facemask and ripped his helmet off. But Colon picked the helmet up and handed to a smiling Haggans, so the two apparently have kissed and made up.

Defensive end Rodney Bailey went through veteran offensive lineman Barrett Brooks like a turnstile and Brooks asked for another shot. Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, Bailey beat him again. I like Brooks on a personal level, but he’s not making this team. Then again, he's been in the league since 1995, so maybe he's cagey enough to find a way to hold on another year.

Bryant McFadden, who was seeing some time with the first team defense thanks to Deshea Townsend’s sore hamstring, decked first-round pick Santonio Holmes after a catch in the 11-on-11 drills. To his credit, Holmes held onto the pass from Charlie Batch and bounced right up.

After Thursday night’s miserable performance in the two-minute drill, the first-team offense moved the ball a little against the first-team defense. The problem was that it just took too long because none of the plays were made downfield.

The offense took over at the 25 with 1:41 on the clock.

Roethlisberger hit Verron Haynes for a 9-yard pass and then threw incomplete on second down. Roethlisberger then completed a 3-yard pass to Hines Ward.

A couple of more passes and a pair of Roethlisberger scrambles put the ball at the 38 before Roethlisberger could down the ball at the 38 with 5.6 seconds remaining.

Would the team have kicked the field goal from there - a 56-yarder?

“I wouldn’t have had much of a choice,” said Cowher.

The second-team offense fared much better as Batch connected with rookie Willie Reid on a 55-yard TD pass on the second play after safety Mike Lorello fell down trying to cover for cornerback Anthony Madison, who appeared to blow the coverage.

James Farrior sat out the afternoon session after missing the morning as well with a sore lower back. He was replaced by Clint Kreiwaldt. Townsend practiced sparingly and only saw time in the nickel and dime.

Mike Kudla and Eugene Baker continue to miss time with hamstring injuries.

In an interesting aside, when placekicker Jeff Reed lined up for field goals, second-string punter Mike Barr was his holder. Regular holder Chris Gardocki, the first-string punter, held for rookie Mark Brubaker.

In the morning session, the offense looked crisp, especially in the red zone drills. Roethlisberger threw four passes, three of them for touchdowns.

Porter, who seems to be close to returning, ran the hillside here at St. Vincent and is getting himself into shape after having offseason knee surgery.

Saturday's practice, which begins at 12:30 p.m., is open to the public. The team will have its second goal-line drill, which is always a treat.

Day 4/5

Sorry no practice report Wednesday night. By the time I had written everything for the paper and covered two practices, at 9 a.m. and then until 9 p.m., I was a little whipped. I can only imagine how tired the players were. Though I did play basketball in the mid-afternoon, so I had some clue.

The goal-line drill Wednesday night was good stuff. The hit James Farrior put on Verron Haynes to force a fumble on fourth down was brutal. We don't often get to see that kind of hitting among the teammates.

Another couple of rookies are starting to stand out, those being undrafted cornerback Anthony Madison and third-round wide receiver Willie Reid.

Madison looks good in coverage and is scrappy. Reid has ridiculous speed and is easily the best punt return guy on the team.

Day 3

The heat index approached 100 here at St. Vincent College Tuesday afternoon.

And as the heat rose, so did the tempers for the Pittsburgh Steelers, most notably for rookie offensive tackle Willie Colon and linebacker Clark Haggans.

During one-on-one pass rushing drills between the offensive linemen and the linebacker and defensive ends, Colon took umbrage to Haggans knocking his helmet off and the two had a verbal sparring session and staredown. In fact, Haggans jumped back up to the line and wanted another go with the rookie before he was sent to the end of the line by the coaching staff.

Colon continued to stare at Haggans, repeatedly asking him if he wanted to “dance.” And as Haggans was called over to another drill, Colon blew him a kiss as the linebacker ran off to the other field.

The near-fight punctuated an otherwise lackluster practice that seems to be leading up to Wednesday night’s session at Latrobe High School, which will include the camp’s first goal-line drill.

The highlight of the session was supposed to be the backs on backers pass rushing drill that was won by the offense by an 8-6 margin. It wasn't nearly as spirited even as it usually is, however.

James Harrison opened by bull-rushing Duce Staley before Heath Miller evened things up by stoning James Farrior.

Willie Parker then held his own against Larry Foote and Dan Kreider stood up Haggans.

Verron Haynes, easily the best blocker among the running backs outside of Kreider, stuffed Arnold Harrison, while Cedric Humes beat Rian Walllace.

Other offensive winners included Charles Davis, Staley - in his second-go around with Lee Vickers – and Parker over Haggans.

Malcolm Postell had no problem with Doug Easlick, while Richard Seigler bull-rushed Branden Joe right into the quarterback.

Harrison faked the bull rush and just went around Miller, while Ronald Stanley finished things off by just getting by Kreider.

It was an up-and-down day for Ricardo Colclough. Working at punt returner, he muffed a pair of punts.

But later in the practice, he made a nice interception on a Charlie Batch pass attempt and nearly had another pick from Ben Roethlisberger later.

Roethlisberger looked a little better throwing the ball today, but still isn’t cutting it loose with full steam.

Defensive end Travis Kirshke and Kreider were back in action after missing practice Monday, but Santonio Holmes sat out with his minor hamstring strain. Mike Kudla (hamstring), Jerame Tuman (illness) and Joey Porter (knee) also sat out, while Walter Young was activated off the PUP list and saw his first action.

Day 2

After the morning practice was moved indoors to St. Vincent College’s gymnasium, the Steelers held their second outdoor practice Monday afternoon on the rain-soaked fields here. Defensive end Travis Kirshke (back), fullback Dan Kreider (foot) and linebacker Mike Kudla (hamstring) were held out of the session.

Rodney Bailey moved up into Kirshke’s spot opposite Shaun Nua on the second team defense and looked good.

During 9-on-7 inside running drills, Bailey shed a blocker, slid down the line and enveloped running back Cedric Humes as he hit the hole.

Later in one-on-one pass rushing drills, Bailey had his way with rookie offensive tackle Willie Colon, who lost some early battles to Bailey, Andre Frazier and Clark Haggans. Colon came back late to stone Bailey, Aaron Smith and Frazier toward the end of the drill. The kid seems to be a fast learner.

Trai Essex is continuing to see time at guard as it looks as if they are preparing him to fill the spot of Barrett Brooks as the swing guy on game days. Brooks is a great guy, but his days here appear to be numbered.

Brett Keisel was the star of the one-on-one drills. He’s a fluid pass rusher and really gets up the field quickly. How he handles playing the run every down remains to be seen, but his pass-rush ability is something the team doesn’t have in any of its other linemen.

Over in the one-on-one passing drills, Nate Washington continued to shine, this time making a beautiful diving catch of a deep pass from Charlie Batch working against Ryan Clark.

In team drills, rookie corner Anthony Madison showed some flashes, batting down a couple of passes in coverage. Madison made a nice read on a quick out by Lee Mays to bat down a pass from Omar Jacobs. Later, he got a hand in front of Willie Reid to bat down a ball from Shayne Boyd.

Santonio Holmes tweaked a hamstring, but it was nothing serious.

He, Reid and Cedric Wilson were fielding punts during special teams session. Washington will also work in there and special teams coach Kevin Spencer made a point of having Washington field some punts at the conclusion of practice.

Rookie defensive end Lee Vickers (my sleeper pick to make the team) was worked into the lineup at outside linebacker. At 6-6, 270 pounds, Vickers is an interesting prospect. He reminds me a lot of former Steelers and current Patriots lineabacker Mike Vrabel.

First-practice thoughts

Here are some random thoughts from the Steelers' first practice Sunday at St. Vincent College.

How amped up was the crowd that was estimated at 14,000 for its first view of the defending Super Bowl champions? Even little things like players going to the bathroom at a portable toilet drew large cheers.

"It's always big on weekends, but after a certain point, you just try to stop looking." said head coach Bill Cowher of the crowd. "But they were loud and they were cheering every little thing that happened."

Many, no doubt, showed up to watch quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's first practice since his June motorcycle accident. And while Roethlisberger wasn't particularly sharp - at least by his standards - throwing the ball Sunday, he did make it through practice without a major incident.

"We've had all the doctor's reports have said that he's ready to go. He says he's ready to go," said Cowher. "So we're proceeding on. The more we get out here, the more we'll relieve some of the tension. Until he takes the first hit in a game, that's going to be there too. But he seems good and we’re moving on."

Roethlisberger did have one scare when he hit his throwing hand on the back of guard Alan Faneca's helmet during a passing drill. The quarterback shook his hand a bit and huddled with trainer John Norwig for a while before continuing practice.

Safety Tyrone Carter started with the first team base defense at free safety and is holding off free agent Ryan Clark and rookie Anthony Smith at that spot for now. Clark is running second team with veteran Mike Logan.

As expected, James Harrison took Joey Porter's place at outside linebacker while Porter continues to recover from an offseason knee surgery.

Porter and wide receiver Walter Young were the only players who did not practice. Rookie linebacker Mike Kudla injured a hamstring and according to Cowher will be out a few days. Fullback Dan Kreider also suffered a minor injury, aggravating a previous foot injury and could miss Monday’s practice, which will be the team's first two-a-day session.

Rookie quarterback Omar Jacobs looked sharp on the throwing drills, putting numerous deep passes right on the money. The more I see of him, the less I'm bothered by his awkward throwing motion. He has a strong arm and nice touch on his passes.

On one particular play in the one-on-one receivers vs. defensive backs drills, Jacobs threw a perfect deep ball to Nate Washington, who made a leaping catch over Ricardo Colclough for a touchdown.

Later, Jacobs was right on the money on a deep post to Quincy Morgan, who had gotten behind two defensive backs, but Morgan dropped the pass.

As previously mentioned, Roethlisberger was less than sharp, having several passes batted down and a couple of passes intercepted, one by a leaping Clark Haggans, who had dropped into a short zone, the other by cornerback Deshea Townsend, who jumped a short out route by Washington and went into the end zone untouched.

Second-year outside linebacker Andre Frazier and rookie tackle Willie Colon were the stars of the one-on-one blocking drills.

Frazier put a wicked spin move on an opposing lineman to get to the quarterback and seems to be carrying the extra weight he put on - he's at 248 now - well. He also took on a block from a pulling Chris Kemoeatu during team drills, easily slipping the block to get to the ballcarrier.

Colon, meanwhile, stoned Haggans with his punch and is just nasty aggressive. He's not going to win the camp Lady Bing award.

Roethlisberger ready to go

Ben Roethlisberger completed the run test Saturday and proclaimed himself ready to resume his duties as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In fact, Roethlisberger said Saturday, he's taking everything as normal now and will take his usual amount of snaps during the team's first practice Sunday.

What's amazing is that just six weeks ago, Roethlisberger spent seven hours in surgery to repair his face after a motorcycle accident.

The only real sign that Roethlisberger had anything happen to him are a bump on the bridge of his nose and the fact he's dropped 15 to 20 pounds, getting to 236 pounds.

On the other side of the coin, linebacker Joey Porter was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list and will be out indefinitely. Porter had offseason knee surgery. He's also reportedly miffed about his contract status. Stay tuned to this one.

Born to run

After giving it some thought last night, I've come to the conclusion Ben Roethlisberger will do the run test with the rest of the Steelers this afternoon. It will be his "I'm back" statement to the world.

I don't expect Roethlisberger to practice any time soon other than maybe throwing a football on the sideline. But running today will make a statement to everybody that he's put last month's motorcycle accident behind him and is focused on football again.

All in

There were no holdouts and nobody showed up late as the Steelers reported to training camp here at St. Vincent College in Latrobe.

Because of that, it was a quiet reporting day.

In fact, the days two biggest stories, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Santonio Holmes, weren't available to the media.

Both will speak to the media following Saturday's run test and have plenty of questions to answer. Roethlisberger will be pepperred with questions about his health following his motorcycle accident six weeks ago. Holmes will finally be forced to field questions about two arrests since the Steelers made him their first-round draft pick in April, the first for disorderly conduct, the second for domestic abuse.

Needless to say, Saturday should be a much more exciting day.

The time has come

As I sit here in the office for the final night before training camp begins, I can't help but dread the oncoming crush that is going to come with covering the defending Super Bowl champions.

Given the amount of coverage the Steelers received during Training camp is going to be a zoo this year. It seems that the TV stations here in Pittsburgh feel their viewers want all Steelers news at all times.

Unfortunately, this consists of sending 15 clueless reporters out and having them either dominate an interview with a player, asking ridiculous questions, or just talking aimlessly about nothing and simply mentioning the word "Steelers" every once in a while.

Boy, I can't wait.

Crank it up

I've been taking some much-needed time off from work, which has included taking time off from my blog as well. But with the opening of the Steelers training camp just one week away, I can ignore this no more.
Football season is upon us and aren't we all the better for it.
OK, maybe not. But the upcoming season should be one of the more interesting in the past few years here in Steelers territory. What, with a Super Bowl title to defend, a helmetless, motorcycle riding quarterbaack to keep track of and the possibility that this could be Bill Cowher's last season as head coach, there's plenty to talk about.
I'll keep you up to date with it all, not only in the daily paper, but here as well.

Back in black

Ben Roethlisberger made a surprise appearance at the ESPY awards to help the Steelers accept the award for the best team.

Roethlisberger was looking good for a guy who had been in a major accident a month ago. There was some swelling around his face, but overall, he looked like the Roethlisberger of old.

He also doesn't appear to have lost much, if any, weight, something that was a concern following his accident. It appears he'll be ready to go when training camp opens in a couple of weeks.

That's good news for Steelers fans.

On the lookout

Looking for somebody to keep an eye on at training camp this year?

How about rookie free agent defensive end Lee Vickers.

Vickers, a former high school quarterback and cornerback, attended North Alabama after spending a couple of years as a pitcher in the minor leagues.

Just 185 pounds when he graduated high school, Vickers now carries 100 pounds more on his 6-6 frame. More impressively, Vickers ran a 4.57 40-yard dash at a workout in Orlando before the draft.

He didn't get drafted because he was raw. But Vickers is a player with plenty of potential. The Steelers like to develop these kind of players for their defensive line.

He reminds me a lot of current Steelers' lineman Brett Keisel. He has a similar build and, if anything, is even faster than Keisel.

Remember, Keisel was a former seventh-round draft pick who's now a starter.

Long road back

It was good to see that Ben Roethlisberger apparently suffered no long-term damage in his motorcycle accident earlier this week.

Roethlisberger's statement through the Steelers said that he has learned his lesson and if he ever rides a motorcycle again, he will do so while wearing a helmet.

Roethlisberger is one of the lucky ones.

His injuries are severe, make no mistake about that. But they aren't life or career-threatening. Heck, he likely won't even miss any regular season games because of it.

He's a lucky man indeed.

Forrest Roethlisberger

"Stupid is as stupid does," Forrest Gump said in the movie bearing his name.

After Monday's motorcycle accident involving Ben Roethlisberger, Gump could amend that statement to, "Stupid is as Roethlisberger does."

Everybody told the Steelers' QB that riding a motorcycle, let alone riding one without a helmet, wasn't a good idea. But Roethlisberger the wild child ignored everyone around him and continued to ride not only his Harley, but the crotch rocket on which he was injured Monday as well.

Was the accident his fault? It certainly doesn't appear that way.

But much like when I'm hunting, I'm not so much worried about what I'm going to do, but more so about what that guy next to me might try.

Early indications are that Roethlisberger will be OK to play this season once he recovers from a broken jaw, orbital bone and a number of lacerations.

That's the good news. The bad news is that given his past history, Roethlisberger may still be headstrong enough to climb back aboard another motorcycle in the near future.

Tipping the scales?

There are some out there saying that Steve McNair joining the Baltimore Ravens helps tip the scales in the AFC North this season.

Don't believe it.

Before the Ravens acquired McNair, they were likely the fourth-place team in the AFC North. Now, with McNair in the fold, they're still likely no better than a third-place team.

And that's if McNair stays healthy all season, something he hasn't done in quite some time.

The acquisition of McNair does show one thing, however, about Baltimore. Head coach Brian Billick is hitting the panic button.

Basically, Billick is saying that if he doesn't win this season, he's probably done in Baltimore. Why else would he throw away former No. 1 pick Kyle Boller?

The battle in the AFC North is still between the Steelers and Cincinnati, with Carson Palmer being the wild card in the equation.

Camp winding down

This is the final week of voluntary coaching sessions for the Steelers. But the team's coaching sessions this time around have been anything but boring.

First, the team makes its trip to the White House last week. Then, Sunday, they picked up their Super Bowl rings in a private party at Heinz Field.

Not a bad way to spend the offseason.

Such is the life for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Arrest no big deal

The news of Santonio Holmes' arrest led the 6 p.m. broadcast of at least one local TV station Saturday. It was on the front sports page of the O-R.

Why?

Holmes' arrest for disorderly conduct is newsworthy only because he was the Steelers' No. 1 draft pick. He was released that night and will likely only have to pay a fine.

You have to realize that there are probably 100 people arrested for DC on Miami's South Beach every weekend. Considering Holmes was released, he couldn't have been causing that much trouble.

Some will point to this and equate it to Plaxico Burress' arrest in Virginia for having an open can of beer on the street. Again, what's the big deal?

These arrests were noteworthy only because of who they happened to, not because of what was done.

Neither speaks to any character flaw.

Looking on from above

Watching the voluntary coaching sessions this week, one can't help but look at the Steelers as an improved team.

Why?

First and foremost, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger seems to be his old self again.

The thumb injury that Roethlisberger played with last season is now completely healed and the Steelers' QB is regularly unleashing balls in practice that travel 65 yards through the air. His out patterns have more zip on them and he's no longer side-arming the ball to get it where he wants to throw it.

Roethlisberger has been nothing short of impressive.

And it doesn't matter whom he's throwing the ball to, either.

Hines Ward was in Washington, D.C., Wednesday meeting with the president about children in North Korea. That left Nate Washington and Cedric Wilson as the starting wideouts.

Roethlisberger still zipped pass after pass to them, threading the ball into coverage with no problem.

Bengals taking boneheads

In the most recent Sporting News, NFL writer Dan Pompei polled an unnamed NFL general manager about players his team had taken off its draft board because of character issues.

Of the players that general manager's team had taken off its draft board, the Cincinnati Bengals had selected seven of them.

That's a disturbing trend for Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis.

But the Bengals seem intent on collecting as many bad character guys as they can, including taking three such players in this year's draft,

Given the problems they've had with wide receiver Chris Henry, who seems to get arrested for something once every two or three months, it's surprising Lewis took defensive end Frostee Rucker, linebacker A.J. Nicholson and wide receiver Reggie McNeal in this year's draft.

After getting burned by bad character guys in the late '80s, the Steelers have made a concerted effort to rid themselves of those types. As a result, they've had very few embarassing moments in the past 10 years or so.

That's not to say Cincinnati can't win with the bad guys. But are the headaches they cause really worth it?

Minicamp opens

A few random thoughts from the opening of minicamp today:

Santonio Holmes looks like the real deal. On the second play of team drills, he blew past Ike Taylor on a fly pattern and was settling under a long pass from Ben Roethlisberger when Taylor reached out and grabbed Holmes' jersey. It would have been about a 40-yard penalty in a game. He looks smooth in and out of his cuts as well.

Omar Jacobs has some work to do before he's ready to be an NFL passer. Jacobs stuggles coming out from under center and fumbled a couple of snaps. His passes also tended to come in low no matter where he threw the ball.

In a typical Bill Cowher move, Tyrone Carter opened camp as the No. 1 free safety. It won't be long before Ryan Clark replaces him, though.

Slow ride

With the NFL draft behind us, there hasn't been a lot of NFL news lately. This is the time of year that those of us who cover the league take a little time off.

The coaches and teams do as well.

But the Steelers will open their mini-camp this weekend, getting their first look at their new rookie class in pads.

It will be the first look at these players in person for those of us in the media as well. That's why I'm looking forward to this mini-camp.

I'll begin to formulate the answers to some of my own questions about this team.

Can Santonio Holmes and/or Cedrick Wilson replace Antwaan Randle El?

Is Ryan Clark an adequate replacement at free safety for Chris Hope?

Who will step into Jerome Bettis' leadership role?

These are questions we'll find out the answers to over the coming months beginning this weekend.

Luck be a lady

Sorry I didn't post over the weekend, but the blog was down for some reason: again.

Anyway, I've been asked a thousand times if I was surprised the Steelers traded up in the first round of the draft. Not at all. In fact, in my final mock draft in this newspaper, I said the Giants were the Steelers' likely trade partners. I was surprised who they were able to get by trading up.

I figured Denver, New England or Philadelphia would take Santonio Holmes before the Steelers got a shot at him.

None did and the Steeler got the best wide receiver available.

Talk about your good luck.

Here's a list of the rookie free agents the team signed Monday:

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. College
1. Zach Baker S 6-2 212 East Carolina

2. Mark Brubaker K 6-0 189 East Stroudsburg State

3. Jonathan Dekker TE 6-5 250 Princeton

4. Nick Hagemann OT 6-7 295 South Dakota State

5. Mike Kudla LB 6-3 265 Ohio State

6. Jamar Landrom S 6-3 215 Tennessee State

7. Mike Lorello S 6-1 205 West Virginia

8. Grayling Love OG 6-3 296 Arizona State

9. Anthony Madison CB 5-9 180 Alabama

10. Scott Paxson DT 6-4 292 Penn State

11. Isaac Smolko TE 6-5 257 Penn State

12. Lee Vickers DE 6-6 270 North Alabama

And the pick was

I just finished up doing a draft on the radio with Adam Caplan of the NFL Network on Sirius Radio.

Interestingly enough, running back LenDale White of USC was still available, as was DeAngelo Williams of Memphis. If that's the case, the Steelers could get some interest from teams wanting to trade up.

But the Steelers like White and would consider trading up to get him or Donte Whitner.

If White fell to 32, they would be ecstatic.

You could then expect the team to trade up in Round 2 to grab a safety, either Daniel Bullocks or Darnell Bing. That would be an awesome first day for the defending Super Bowl champions.

No defensive end early

A number of mock drafts recently have had the Steelers selecting a defensive end in the first round of the draft, namely Rodrique Wright of Texas. It's not going to happen.

Follow the money folks.

The Steelers just re-signed Casey Hampton to a new deal before last season began and signed end Brett Keisel to a nice deal this offseason. Add to that Aaron Smith's hefty contract and you have three defensive linemen making a big buck.

Backups Chris Hoke and Travis Kirschke are also pulling down nice salaries.

If the Steelers add a defensive lineman, it won't be in the first half of the draft.

Safety first

The more I've looked at things, the more I think the Steelers will go with a safety in the first round of this year's draft.

Why? It's the safest thing to do and another safety will help out immediately in the team's nickel defense.

Even with the signing of Ryan Clark, the Steelers have just Troy Polamalu, Clark and Tyrone Carter on the roster to play that important position.

Adding a first-round talent at the position to pair with Polamalu for years to come would be the smart thing to do. And Kevin Colbert is nothing if not smart.

So who will the pick be?

I think if the Steelers had their druthers, it would be Donte Whitner of Ohio State.

If he's gone before they pick in the first round, Darnell Bing, Daniell Bullocks or Jason Allen will get a look.

I'm still not sold on Allen's health, but I would have no problem with Bing or Bullocks, two big, physical safeties to pair with Polamalu.

A late riser in the team's plans has been Ko Simpson of South Carolina, who was originally thought to be one of the top safeties available before his stock fell for some reason. Simpson is back on the Steelers' radar, though probably not as a first-round possibility.

The sleeper pick? Stanford linebacker John Alston, a 6-0, 227-pounder who runs a 4.4-second 40. Hmm. A Pac 10 linebacker turned safety in the second round. Carnell Lake anyone?

Broncos wheeling, dealing

The Denver Broncos as at it again trading first-round draft picks, this time dealing their extra choice in the first round to San Francisco, the third deal they've made with first-round picks in this draft.

The Niners acquired the 22nd overall selection in the draft from the Denver Broncos on Wednesday for picks in the second round and third round.

The Broncos will receive the 37th and 68th overall picks in the deal.

The Niners own the sixth overall pick in the draft as well as No. 22 in the first round.

Denver acquired the 22nd pick in a draft-day deal with Washington last year in which the Broncos gave up their first round pick for the Redskins' top pick this season.

Denver also made a trade earlier this spring with Atlanta and the Jets in which Atlanta received defensive end John Abraham and the Broncos moved up from the 29th pick to 15.

Denver, which lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship, now owns seven picks in the first four rounds of the draft.

I'm back

Sorry to let the blog slip a little in the past week, but I had to take some time off for a birth in the family. But I'm back now and ready to rock and roll on this draft.

What have we learned in recent weeks?

A day after I wrote on this site that the Steelers would not be interested in safety Jason Allen from Tennessee, my good friend Rick Gosselein from the Dallas Morning News did his first mock of the year with the Steelers taking Allen in the first round.

I respect the heck out of Goose and his final mock, which will come out late next week, is one of the most accurate available. It also changes considerably.

I don't think Allen will be the pick and Gosselein will likely agree next week.

LenDale White was in Pittsburgh Monday taking a physical and meeting with the Steelers brass. Hopefully word will filter out about that meeting soon.

Allen wrenched

You can scratch safety Jason Allen off your list of potential Steelers draft picks.

Rumor has it the speedy Tennessee safety has been flunking phyicals around the league because of a degenerative condition in his hip. It's the same hip injury that forced him out of action last season.

Allen was a possibility for the Steelers in the first round before the physical problems.

We'll keep weeding through the information until the draft. Keep checking back.

LenDale White slipping

As we near the NFL draft, a number of mocks now have the Steelers getting USC running back LenDale White with the 32nd pick.

Don't believe it.

White was reportedly a huge disappointment at the USC pro day last month, acting standoffish with scouts and really not working out all that well. He was also overweight.

But a fall to the 32nd pick?

I'm not buying that. White won't last past the mid-teens. On-field production does mean something, after all.

Besides, if he was that big of an idiot, the Steelers wouldn't take him anyway,

What about later rounds?

OK, let's assume the first round of the draft goes as I've predicted.

Who will the Steelers then target in the second round?

If the Steelers go for a linebacker in the first round, the second round pick will almost certainly be a safety or wide receiver, with a trade up to get the player they like the most a possibility.

Darnell Bing, Daniel Bullocks or Jason Allen would be safety targets in the second round, though the Steelers would likely need to move up to get them.

If they stay where they're at, then things get a little more interesting. Ko Simpson seems to be falling, but whether he would fall to the end of the second round is unlikely.

Pat Watkins from Florida State is an interesting prospect at 6-4, 200 pounds. He had 10 interceptions playing free safety for the Seminoles over the past three seasons and also returned six kickoffs for touchdowns.

At wide receiver, the Steelers may take Brandon Williams of Wisconsin at the end of the round, rather than wait another round to take a receiver.

No 5-8 receivers

Mock draft after mock draft has the Steelers taking Miami of Florida wide receiver Sinorice Moss with their No. 1 pick in this month's draft.

Their reasoning? The Steelers need a slot receiver and punt returner to replace Antwaan Randle El, a void they believe Moss would fill.

But there's no way the Steelers will spend a No. 1 pick on a 5-8 receiver, having learned their lesson a few years back when they took Troy Edwards in the first round.

Now if Florida's Chad Jackson or Ohio State's Santonio Holmes fell to No. 32, that would be a different stoty. The Steelers would take either of those receivers in a heartbeat.

But unless the 5-8 guy happens to be Barry Sanders, he won't be taken by the Steelers in the first round. And Moss is certainly no Barry Sanders.

And finally

And here are the last 11.

Mind you, all of this will likely change within a week. Have to keep up with Mel Kiper Jr. after all.

22. Denver (from Washington), Gabe Watson, DT, Michigan. Can’t count on those former Browns forever.

23. Tampa Bay, Max Jean-Giles, G, Georgia. Have to open some holes for the Cadillac.

24. Cincinnati Bengals, Donte Whitner, S, Ohio State. The Bengals’ safeties were awful last season and signing Dexter Jackson doesn’t change that.

25. N.Y. Giants, DeMeco Ryans, LB, Alabama. Ryans is a little undersized, but plays non-stop.

26. Chicago, Sinorice Moss, WR, Miami. Spurned by Antwaan Randle El, the Bears grab Moss.

27. Carolina, DeAngelo Williams, RB, Memphis. DeShaun Foster is too brittle to count on every game.

28. Jacksonville, Manny Lawson, LB, N.C. State. The Jaguars hope Lawson is this year’s DeMarcus Ware.

29. N.Y. Jets (from Denver), Nick Mangold, C, Ohio State. After letting Kevin Mawae go, the Jets get a replacement.

30. Indianapolis, Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota. The Edge is gone.

31. Seattle Seahawks, Mathias Kiwanuka, DE, Boston College. Has talent, just needs consistency.

31. Steelers, Bobby Carpenter, LB, Ohio State. Joey Porter and James Farrior are getting up in age. Carpenter could play inside or outside.

The next 11

Here are the next 11 picks in my first mock.

11. St. Louis, Brodrick Bunkley, DT. Florida State. Another great offense that needs defensive stoppers.

12. Cleveland, Chad Greenway, OLB, Iowa. Sorry, I’m not buying that he’s slipping. Don’t forget the Phil Savage-Kirk Ferentz connection.

13. Baltimore, Tamba Hali, DE, Penn State. Ravens like high-motor defenders like Hali.

14. Philadelphia, Chad Jackson, WR, Florida. The TO experiment/debacle is over.

15. Denver (from Atlanta) Marcus McNeil, OT, Auburn. The Broncos need to get younger up front.

16. Miami, Jimmy Williams, DB, Va. Tech. Dolphins need secondary help.

17. Minnesota, Jay Cutler, QB, Vanderbilt. Vikings trade Culpepper, get their possible QB of the future.

18. Dallas, Ernie Sims, LB, Florida. Sims can play inside linebacker in the Cowboys’ 3-4.

19. San Diego, Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State. New QB Phillip Rivers needs all the targets he can get and Keenan McCardell isn’t getting any younger.

20. Kansas City, Tye Hill, CB, Clemson. Hill is a welcome addition to a horrid defense.

21. New England, Lendale White, RB, USC. Patriots luck out and get a power back to replce Corey Dillon.

Mocking it up

With April now nearly here, it's time to start thinking about mock drafts. Over the next couple of days, I'll be posting my first round, 10 or so picks at a time.

1. Houston, Reggie Bush, RB, USC. A no-brainer, really, unless they trade the pick.

2. New Orleans, Mario Williams, DE, North Carolin State. After signing Drew Brees, the Saints are primed to trade this pick to a team looking for a QB.

3. Tennessee, Vince Young, QB, Texas. Young is close with Steve McNair and is a similar quarterback.

4. New York Jets, Matt Leinart, QN, USC. It’s my belief that the Jets will want to trade up for Leinart. They may not have to.

5. Green Bay, A.J. Hawk, OLB, Ohio State. The Packers were awful on defense last year. Hawk is outstanding.

6. San Francisco, Michael Huff, DB, Texas. The 49ers wanted Hawk, but settle for Huff, who can play corner or safety.

7. Oakland, Vernon Davis, TE, Maryland. Davis was the workout star of the combine and can stretch the field.

8. Buffalo, D’Brickshaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia. This is a stroke of luck for Buffalo, which struck out with former top pick Mike Williams.

9. Detroit, Winston Justice, OT, USC. No wide receiver for the fourth year in a row.

10. Arizona, Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon. Great offense needs defensive stoppers.

More ammunition

The two extra fourth round and one additional fifth round pick the Steelers collected Monday when the NFL announced its compensatory picks will come in handy for a team looking for an infusion of young talent.

The Steelers have drafted well under director of football operations Kevin Colbert, who's also shown no qualms about moving around to get the players he desires.

The team traded down in the first round in 2001 and up in the second to grab nose tackle Casey Hampton and linebacker Kendrell Bell.

A couple of years later, the team traded up in the first round for the first time in history to grab safety Troy Polamalu.

Bell is now gone, but Hampton and Polamalu are Pro Bowl players considered the best in the league at their positions.

By rule, teams can't trade compensatory picks. But if the Steelers are inclined to make a move in this year's draft, they now have the ammunition to do so without giving up the farm.

For example, they could deal their second round pick and their fourth to move up a dozeon or so spots in the second round if there is a player they want by don't feel will be there when they pick.

It would certainly make things easier to grab a guy such as linebacker Bobby Carpenter in the first round and trade up in the second to grab safety Darnell Bing.

That would be two quality players and the team would still own a third and two more fourths.

What Haynes means

The question has been posed what the Steelers will do in the draft if they re-sign running back Verron Haynes. Will they still look for a running back in the draft with starter Willie Parker, backup Duce Staley and third-down back Haynes on the roster?

Sure. Remember, they still have a running back spot open on the roster to take Jerome Bettis' spot. Head coach Bill Cowher has always carried at least five running backs.

Even with the aforementioned threesome and fullback Dan Kreider, the Steelers still have an open spot on the roster for a young back who will eventually replace Staley.

Who woulde fit that bill? How about Virginia running back Walli Lundi, who could be had in the third or fourth round?

We like Ike

Restricted free agent cornerback Ike Taylor has yet to draw a contract offer from another team, but could get one soon.

Now that the New York Jets have two first-round draft picks available to them thanks to their trade of John Abraham to Atlanta, Taylor might be on their radar.

Any team that signs Taylor to a contract would owe the Steelers a first-round draft pick in return if the Steelers don't match the offer.

Considering the Jets released starting corner Ty Law just prior to the start of free agency, Taylor would be a nice pickup for them. And they have the ammunition with which to do it.

Dwight visits

As I reported last week, the Steelers hosted Tim Dwight Tuesday as they continued their search to replace Antwaan Randle El as a return man.

Dwight is an average NFL wide receiver, possibly even below average. But he's been to the Pro Bowl as a return man and could give the Steelers a boost in that area.

In other news, quarterback Tommy Maddox visited the Miami Dolphins to talk about a backup job behind newly acquired Daunte Culpepper.

I thought the Dolphins were going to be much improved this year, but signing Maddox would be a step backward for Miami.

New commish

The next commissioner of the NFL may very well have ties to Washington, Pa.

Roger Goodell, the NFL's chief operating officer, has been widely rumored to be the next commissioner when Paul Tagliabue retires, something he will now do in July.

Goodell, a native of Jamestown, N.Y., is a 1981 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College and has worked for the league since 1982.

Big week

A week that started with the Steelers losing wide receiver Antwaan Randle El ended with a bang for the defendind Super Bowl champions.

After losing Randle El on Sunday, the Steelers went on a mini signing spree, bringing in outside free agents Ryan Clark and Rodney Bailey, and re-signing linebacker Clint Kriewaldt, defensive end Brett Keisel, cornerback Deshea Townsend, tight end Jerame Tuman and offensive lineman Barrett Brooks.

That's not a bad haul for the Steelers, who have now pretty much kept the nucleus of last season's championship team together.

When you look around the league, particularly the AFC, other than Jacksonville, the contenders for the Steelers next season haven't done a lot to help themselves.

New England has just two receivers (Deion Branch and Bethel Johnson) under contract. Indianapolis lost Edgerrin James and some key defensive players. San Diego lost Drew Brees. Miami has bettered itself, but it may take a while for the Dolphins to gel with new quarterback Daunte Culpepper. And the Bengals still have questions about Carson Palmer's return.

Considering what the Steelers have done and the fact they can still add an impact player or two in the draft, the Super Bowl champs have had a strong offseason.

Looking for return man

With Antwaan Randle El now in Washington, the Steelers are exploring their options for kick returners.

Tim Dwight will be first up, visiting the Steelers in the next few days.

Dwight, a former Pro Bowl return man, has played for San Diego, Atlanta and, most recently, New England.

Steelers adding seats

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced today that they have submitted plans to the Sports and Exhibition Authority to add a new club section to Heinz Field for the 2006 season.  The project will add approximately 700 club seats plus 20,000 sq. ft. of enclosed club space in the north end of the stadium.  The capacity of Heinz Field will increase to 65,050.
 
The new seats will be offered to those on the season ticket waiting list and some to existing season ticket holders who have previously requested to relocate to club seats.
 
The new seats will carry a seat license and will be priced in the range of the existing club seats at Heinz Field.
 
Construction on the project is scheduled to begin next month at a cost of approximately $4.0 million. 
 
Also, the Steelers are looking at return man Tim Dwight, most recently of the New England Patriots.

A former Pro Bowl return guy, Dwight would help ease of the loss of Antwaan Randle El.

A Steelers flurry

Tuesday was a big day for the Steelers as they signed safety Ryan Clark (scroll down to read more about him) and defensive end Brett Keisel Tuesday while losing defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen to the Jets.

Clark and Keisel signed four-year deals with the Steelers and are considered players with plenty of upside. Clark is just 25, while Keisel is 27.

The 35-year-old von Oelhoffen got $9.2 million from the Jets over three years, including a $3.2 million signing bonus. His contract may be even more out of whack than Antwaan Randle El's deal the other day.

The Steelers also hosted former Cleveland Browns tight end Aaron Shea Tuesday, though he moved to the backburner with all of the other signings going on.

Jerame Tuman, who finished the season as the Steelers' backup tight end, apparently has turned down the team's offer to return. So too has Chris Hope, which prompted Clark's signing.

Possible hope replacement?

The Steelers have begun looking at possible replacements for free agent free safety Chris Hope, starting with former Washington safety Ryan Clark.

Clark is an overachiever from LSU who won a spot in the NFL as a rookie free agent with the New York Giants. Ironically, he was released by the Giants two years ago when they signed former Steelers' starter Brent Alexander.

That turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to Clark, who signed with the Redskins, becoming a two-year starter in Washington.

Hope, meanwhile, will meet with the San Francisco 49ers later this week.

And so it begins

According to several sources, wide receiver Antwaan Randle El signed a 6-year $31 million deal with the Washington Redskins after spurning a 6-year $18-million offer from the Chicago Bears that included an $8 million signing bonus.

Randle El's deal with Washington includes up to $11.5 million in bonus money, but he joins a crowded Redskins' receiving corps. Washington just traded for San Francisco's Brandon Lloyd on Saturday and already has Santana Moss and David Patten on the roster.

Defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen visited the New York Jets over the weekend, but the Steelers will still likely bring the veteran back.

Cincinnati has shown interest in Tommy Maddox, although I'm not sure why.

And Chukky Okobi has reportedly restructured his contract, though that is unconfirmed at this point.

The only free agent the Steelers have re-signed thus far is linebacker Clint Kreiwaldt.

Quiet start

While the Browns are spending like drunken sailors and the Ravens are getting ravaged like France in a war, all has been quiet with the Steelers thus far in free agency.

No signings. No losses.

That likely won't continue.

But the longer the Steelers' free agents hang around on the market, the better the chance they have of re-signing with the Steelers.

Of note: Safety Chris Hope will visit the Browns early this week.

Given Cleveland's early flurry, if the Browns want Hope, they'll get him. They've still got a lot of money to spend and are looking to make a splash.

Randle El vs. Bryant

Back in 2002 when the Steelers were looking for a No. 3 receiver to compliment Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress, many fans screamed bloody murder when the team passed on Pitt's Antonio Bryant in the second round to take Antwaan Randle El instead.

To make matters worse, Bryant was the next receiver selected after Randle El and put up some decent numbers that season for the Dallas Cowboys.

But as we have now found, Randle El was the better pick.

Bryant was bounced out of Dallas in a trade to Cleveland for Qunicy Morgan, the same Quincy Morgan whom the Cowboys cut and was subsequently picked up by the Steelers.

His problem? He's lazy and his attitude stinks. Sure, he's got talent, but good luck coaxing it out of him.

Randle El, meanwhile, will never be a star, regardless of the contract he gets when the free agency period opens at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. But he's a much better player than Bryant will ever be.

Character matters and Randle El's character has always been much better than Bryant's ever was or will be.

Freeing up the cash

With the salary cap going up to $104 million with the new CBA in place, the Steelers find themselves about $11 million under the salary cap.

That's good news for a team with four starters heading into free agency.

But don't expect the Steelers to suddenly become big spenders on the open market.

The team will need to save about $4 million in cap space with which to sign its rookies. That will leave about $7 million in "Mad Money" with which to play with.

You can expect the team to go hard to re-sign defensive end Brett Keisel. And finding a safety to replace Chris Hope will also be a must.

The team will likely look to the draft for help at wide receiver. And Charlie Batch will be brought back to back up Ben Roethlisberger.

If things get too crazy, the Steelers can still clear more cap space by restructuring the contract of one or both of their centers.

Jeff Hartings got a $750,000 roster bonus March 8, bringing his cap hit in 2006 to $8 million. Add to that the $2 million Chukky Okobi is scheduled to earn and there's some wiggle room at that position.

Safety dance

With the release of both Mike Logan and Russell Stuvaints and the impending free agency of Chris Hope, the Steelers are about to find themselves with just two safeties on the roster in Troy Polamalu and Tyrone Carter.

Now Polamalu is good, but he can't play both safety positions at the same time, so this could be a problem.

Carter has starting experience with both Minnesota and the Jets, but he's the kind of guy you're always looking to replace.

One option for the Steelers would be to re-sign cornerback Deshea Townsend and move him back to free safety. He catches the ball well and has been around the defense so long he likely knows it better than anyone on the team.

Another option would be to sign a veteran free agent. But if you're going to do that, why not just bring back Chris Hope?

Just a couple of weeks ago I would have put the odds of the Steelers using a first-round draft pick on a free safety at about 10 percent. But given that the position is really the only opening in the starting lineup that doesn't have a viable replacement, those odds are growing significantly.

Here we go

Talks again broke off between the NFL and NFLPA late Sunday night, but the league moved the start of free agency back to 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

NFL owners will meet Tuesday in Dallas to discuss the NFLPA's latest offer.

Two teams struck just before free agency hit to re-sign their star running backs.

Seattle inked Shaun Alexander to a $62 million deal that will pay the reigning NFL MVP over $15 million in bonuses and salary in 2006.

Green Bay brought back Ahman Green for a one-year $5 million deal.

The Steelers did restructure running back Duce Staley's deal at a savings of $1.2 million. Instead of earning a base salary of $2.5 million in 2006, Staley will now earn $670,000. He will instead get the $1.83 million in signing bonus, lowing his cap hit in 2006 from $3.67 million to $2.34 million.
Also last week, the team officially placed running back Jerome Bettis on the reserve/retired list, thus clearing his $5.35 million salary off their books.

Still no new CBA

Even though owners and the NFLPA have resumed meetings on a new CBA, nothing has been ironed out yet.

If something doesn't happen soon, most teams will go back into panic mode and begin purging themselves of high-priced vets once again.

Teams have until 6 p.m. Sunday to be under the salary cap, be it $95.5 million or $105 million. That's why the Steelers are in a holding pattern right now with what else they will do.

Nobody is really sure what the cap is going to be, but everyone has two plans in place, just in case.

This is my 14th season covering this league and I've never seen it in a situation like this. NFL popularity is at an all-time high. Can't these guys see that they are risking everything by not coming to some kind of deal?

But, when nobody wants to budge, this is what you get.

The great Gordon Gecko once said, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." But that couldn't be further from the truth right now for the NFL or its players.

Next cuts are the deepest

With Tommy Maddox and Willie Williams now former Steelers, the question is, who's next?

Rumor has it that it will be Chukky Okobi.

The Steelers would like to do something to lower center Jeff Hartings' cap figure of just over $8 million in 2006, though Hartings has balked at taking a Jerome Bettis-like pay cut.

But the Steelers would clearly prefer to keep the 33-yar-old Hartings over Okobi, who's base salary jumps to $2 million this season.

One way to do that would be to extend Hartings' contract for at least one more season, while lowering his base salary in 2006.

The Steelers would then release Okobi and draft a center early this year as Hartings' eventual replacement.

Free agency pushed back

The NFL has extended the free agency period, moving it back three days instead of the month that had previously been talked about.

The move comes on the heals of the owners' meeting Thursday in which they voted not to cave into the players' salary demands.

Teams now have until 6 p.m. Sunday to be under the cap. But which cap is it going to be? Could be about $95 million if there is no new CBA. It could be $105 million with a new CBA in place.

That's quite a difference. You can see why NFL teams are in such a state of confusion right now.