Post-Houston thoughts

The Steelers made enough mistakes in this game to last them a season, but were somehow in it to the end.

The mistakes, though, were made by many of the players the Steelers consider their future, which is somewhat disconcerting.

You had Ben Roethlisberger refusing to take checkdowns that were available, instead holding onto the ball far longer than he should and taking some ridiculous hits. I know, it's an age-old issue for Roethlisberger, but you're supposed to get wiser as you get older.

You had Mike Wallace taking a silly taunting penalty after a great 22-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter that would have put the ball inside Houston territory. Instead, the Steelers were forced to punt later from their own 48 instead of possibly being in field goal range. Wallace has to be better than that.

You had LaMarr Woodley constantly getting too far upfield on runs away from him, allowing Arian Foster lanes to cut back to his side.

"I have to be better on that," Woodley said. "I have to play the cutback and the boot instead of just playing the boot."

Ya think?

You had Antonio Brown making some great adjustments on back-shoulder throws. But then fair-catching a punt at his own 5 and being seemingly oblivious to what he was supposed to do on hot routes on a number of occasions.

You had Maurkice Pouncey taking a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty after a nice run by Mewelde Moore to the Houston 6 at the end of the first half. That pushed the Steelers back to the 21 and set up what would be a blocked field goal to end the first half.

You've got to be better than that if you hope to win on the road against quality opponents.

© Is the season over? Certainly not.

Few expected the Steelers to win in Houston. It was disconcerting to see how they lost, with Houston running the ball at will in the first half.

The Steelers did tighten up in the second half - save the 42-yard TD run by Foster - but, again, you have to be better than that to win on the road against a quality opponent.

© Roethlisberger was in a walking boot and on crutches after the game after suffering a sprained foot.

I'd be surprised if he doesn't push to play next week, however, with the season on the line against a surprisingly good Tennessee team.

The Titans have already beaten Baltimore and Cleveland, so if the Steelers can find a way to beat Tennessee, it's like making up a game on the competition.

© Mike Wallace had four catches for 77 yards in the first half, then wasn't targeted again in the second half.

There were some opportunities for Wallace without safety coverage over the top in this game, but the Texans gambled that their blitz could force Roethlisberger to throw before Wallace had a chance to get deep.

It worked, save a 40-yard catch by Wallace in the second quarter.

Most of the time, however, Wallace was bracketed, something the Steelers had better get used to.

© If I'm Mike Tomlin, I go for it on 4th and inches from the 8 down 10-7 on the opening play of the fourth quarter.

The Steelers had just run seven times for 55 yards and had the Texans on their heels.

Instead, Tomlin kicked a field goal and took the 10-10 tie.

Greetings from Houston

It's a beautiful day here at Reliant Stadium. The roof is closed and it's nice and cool inside the building.

© The Steelers inactives are Dixon, McFadden, Dwyer, Chris Carter, Legursky Jonathan Scott and Keisel.

For Houston, starting corner Kareem Jackson is out. Jason Allen will start in his place.

© McFadden is a healthy scratch for the second consecutive week. He's ready to play, but the coaching staff is happy with the way the pass defense has performed.

© All teams are now required to have two offensive linemen wear microphones in order to hear if the opponent is simulating the snap count.

Maurkice Pouncey will be one of the linemen for the Steelers wearing a mic.

Who I like, Houston version

This is going to be a tough spot for the Steelers, heading into Houston for a game against the Texans coming off a loss against New Orleans.

I think the Steelers will settle down with the turnovers. They're not a team that's going to turn the ball over three-plus times in every road game.

The Steelers actually match up with the Texans pretty well. Yes, Mario Williams is going to be a problem. But he's more of a power rusher. Trai Essex may be able to hold his own there - as long as the Steelers can stay balanced.

The Texans also have some issues of their own, as last week's 1-5 effort in the red zone against the Saints. They're also allowing 4.8 yards per rushing attempt and 12.5 yards per pass reception.

Arian Foster is expected to be back and see a full workload for the Texans.

Jonathan Scott, Doug Legursky and Brett Keisel are out for the Steelers.

Look for Pittsburgh to keep things close, but lose, 27-23.

Wednesday news and notes

From the AP:

Retired coaches Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer are among the modern-era candidates for the 2012 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Cowher is eligible for the first time, as are Keyshawn Johnson, Tiki Barber, Drew Bledsoe, Stephen Davis, Rod Smith, Will Shields, Troy Vincent and Mike Vanderjagt.

Parcells and Schottenheimer previously were eligible under different requirements.

In 2008, the Hall of Fame made it mandatory for coaches, like players, to be retired five consecutive seasons. Before that, coaches were eligible immediately upon retirement, allowing Parcells to be a nominee in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and Schottenheimer in 2000. This is their first year of eligibility under the new provision.

© I don't think Cowher gets in this year - Dermontti Dawson seems to be a favorite, though.


If the players listed above, the only one who has a shot is Will Shields, but probably not this year.

Barber will get some push because he played in New York, but he's not Hall of Fame material, particularly not with Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin still waiting to get in.

© Wide receiver Antonio Brown was fined $7,500 for his low block during an interception return against the Colts.

Tuesday with Tomlin

The big injury news Tuesday was that both Doug Legursky (shoulder) and Jonathan Scott (ankle) are questionable to play this week at Houston.

Rookie RT Marcus Gilbert is expected to be OK.

Mike Tomlin did say that if Scott can't play, Trai Essex will start at LT. They'll leave Gilbert at RT.

Ramon Foster would replace Legursky.

Tomlin did say that the Steelers aren't interested in bringing in a starter-type offensive lineman at this point. IF they sign somebody this week, it will be another Jamon Meredith-type player, somebody who will help them practice during the week.

© Tomlin said he didn't have a conversation with Emmanuel Sanders regarding his failure to tap the Colts' Joe Lefeged down following an interception.

He said Sanders immediately acknowledged his mistake on the sidelines and he didn't feel the need to harp on the obvious.

© One mistake Tomlin did acknowledge today was his timeout with eight seconds remaining prior to Shaun Suisham's game-winning field goal.

Tomlin thought he had another timeout remaining - in case of a botched snap - but he forgot he lost a timeout when Scott was injured with less than two minutes remaining.

Post-Indianapolis thoughts

How does Mike Wallace just disappear from the game plan as he did in the second quarter?

I know the Steelers turned the ball over three times in the quarter, but it wasn't like they did so without running some plays.

And yet, the team's best playmaker had four balls thrown his way in the first quarter, resulting in three catches for 129 yards and a score – and then nothing.

If I'm throwing a bubble screen or something of that sort, it's going to Wallace - sorry Hines Ward.

© Those pick plays the Colts run are pretty much unstoppable if the officials aren't going to call the picks - and they didn't.

The Steelers did do a great job for the most part, however, of limiting the damage on them - at least until the Colts' final drive, when they seemingly couldn't get anyone on the ground.

© Ike Taylor wasn't credited with a tackle in this game – and that has to be a misprint - but his impact was this: Reggie Wayne 13 targets, three catches, 24 yards.

Will Gay, who got the start on the other side, was also solid once again. I know he's a favorite whipping boy on the message boards, but Gay and Keenan Lewis have played well enough that the Steelers aren't in a hurry to push Bryant McFadden back into the lineup.

© I feel badly for Jonathan Scott.

I know, I know, he had a tough game. But do you blame Scott for that, or do you blame the people who felt he was capable of blocking Dwight Freeney?

© It sure would help matters in a game like that if Ben Roethlisberger didn't hold the ball so long - but that's beating a dead horse.

© The Steelers running game produced 10 yards on 10 carries in the first half. Then, they finally decided to start running straight at the Colts rather than sideways.

That resulted in 57 yards on the ground in the second half.

© Scott, by the way, looks like he'll be out for the next couple of weeks.

He was in a walking boot after the game.

Steelers-Colts inactives

Bryant McFadden is a healthy scratch tonight. Also down are Dwyer, Meredith, Chris Scott, Cotchery and Keisel.

Six starters, including Manning out for the Colts.

Mike Pollak starts at RG for Ryan Diem; Eric Foster – all 265 pounds of him - at DT for Flil Moala; Pat Angerer at MLB for Gary Brackett; Phillip Wheeler at SLB for Ernie Sims; David Caldwell at SS for Melvin Bullitt.

That's four starters right up the middle of the defense.

Top and bottom and who I like

1. New England - Moves into the top spot, but could lose this week at Buffalo

2. Green Bay - Packers, like the Patriots, have to be concerned with their pass defense

3. New York Jets - Face a tough test this weekend at Oakland

4. New Orleans - Drew Brees is playing excellent football

5. Houston - Head to New Orleans for a big showdown

6. Baltimore - Stumbled in Nashville

7. Steelers - Rebounded with a strong effort against Seattle

8. San Diego - A Norv Turner-type loss in New England last week

9. Atlanta - Rally to beat the Eagles

10. Philadelphia - Vick has four fumbles in two games. That's an issue.

Bottom 10

23. San Francisco - Alex Smith is barely averaging 150 yards passing per game

24. Denver - Remember when the Broncos were relevant?

25. Cleveland - Big win over Indianapolis?

26. Cincinnati - At least the Bengals haven't gotten smoked yet - pun intended

27. Jacksonville - Blaine Gabbert takes over at QB. Ick

28. Minnesota - Donovan McNabb faded fast

29. Carolina - I don't care how many yards Cam Newton is throwing for. They're still losing

30. Indianapolis - Peyton Manning may win the MVP award without playing a game

31. Seattle - Averaging less than 50 yards rushing per game

32. Kansas City - Ten points in two games


Who I like this week

Remember when the schedule came out and you wrote this game off as a loss?

Those days are long gone. The Steelers will control the game with Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman and slow the Colts pass rush.

The Colts have some offensive weapons, but the Steelers will get after Kerry Collins.

William Gay will start again in place of Bryant McFadden, while Brett Keisel is also out.

Chris Kemoeatu will be back.

Take Pittsburgh, 31-16

What's going on

Brett Keisel, not surprisingly, was the only player to miss practice Wednesday for the Steelers as they prepare to play Indianapolis.

There's really no reason to play Keisel this week, particularly with a big game at Houston looming next week.

© Don't be surprised if Ramon Foster wins back the starting right guard spot from Doug Legursky.

After watching the game against Seattle a second time, I saw that Foster was very effective in the run game.

© The Steelers have to get their running game going this week against Indianapolis. IF they can do that, it will slow down speedy defensive ends Rasheen Mathis and Dwight Freeney and help out offensive tackles Jonathan Scott and Marcus Gilbert.

© Through two games, Mike Wallace is leading all NFL wideouts in receptions with 18, putting him on pace for 128 for the season. His average per catch is down to just over 15 yards per game, but if he keeps up his pace, Wallace will approach the 2,000 yards he set as a goal this season.

Wallace also has five consecutive 100-yard games in the regular season. Yancey Thigpen and Lynn Swann are tied for the fifth-most 100-yard games in team history with 10 each. Plaxico Burress had 11.

Hines Ward is the team's all-time leader with 29. Wallace has five in a row!

Tueday with Tomlin

Brett Keisel has a grade 1 PCL sprain and is questionable to play this week. The guess here is that he'll sit this week as the Steelers will need him much more in Houston in two weeks.

Ziggy Hood would get the start if Keisel doesn't play.

© Mike Tomlin was a little more optimistic about CB Bryant McFadden and LG Chris Kemoeatu returning after both sat out Sunday's win against Seattle.

Jerricho Cotchery is also getting closer to return and Tomlin said Chris Carter should definitely be available.

© On Ramon Foster and Marcus Gilbert, Tomlin said, "I thought Ramon did some nice things. I like his effort and finish. Marcus Gilbert did some nice things as well. I thought we won the line of scrimmage in the first half, not so much in the second half."

© On the missed goal line opportunities: "It's execution."

© On Keenan Lewis: "He did a solid job. … He played a lot of routes close. It was a good start for him."

Post Steelers-Seahawks thouts

That was pretty much the way the Steelers were expected to handle a far-inferior Seattle team.

Then again, considering that Baltimore went into Tennessee and lost, 26-13, as James Farrior said after this game, any NFL team is capable of winning a game in a given week.

Fans will still be grumbling that this win over Seattle proves nothing. And, for once, those naysayers are probably right.

The Steelers were the better team. They were at home. They are supposed to win in dominating fashion.

© Isaac Redman's best play in this game wasn't on his 20-yard TD run, though that was a great cut he made to get past the final Seattle defender.

His best play came on a block to free Antonio Brown during his 41-yard punt return at the end of the first quarter.

Redman sealed the edge and allowed Brown to scoot down the sideline.

That block occurred inside the 10. Had Brown been tackled there, everyone would have been screaming at him for returning a punt from inside his own 10.

Instead, he was a hero for giving the Steelers great field position to set up their second score - Redman's touchdown.

© The Steelers gave Redman a series of his own to work with in the first half and the scored on it. Redman had two carries for 23 yards in the drive.

Expect to see more of that moving forward.

© The Steelers also gave Redman a look at the goal line after Rashard Mendenhall was stuffed on three goal line carries in the first half.

Redman also failed to get in, but did pick up the yard that Mendenhall had lost.

The Steelers were only 2 of 4 inside the red zone and need to fix that moving forward.

© Brett Keisel appears to be OK. He'll likely be slowed after leaving the game with a sprained PCL, but it could have been worse.

Same goes for Ben Roethlisberger, who had to leave the game after a late, low hit by Raheem Brock in the second quarter.

Roethlisberger returned to the game and appears to be fine.

We'll see if any fines are forthcoming to Brock, although it appeared he was somewhat - and I'm saying somewhat - blocked into Roethlisberger's knee.

© William Gay started in place of injured Bryant McFadden and made several nice pass breakups. Gay isn't great, but he's not as bad as some would have you believe.

© I watched rookie Marcus Gilbert quite a bit and he held up OK in his first career start. He was particularly effective in the run game.

He's got some tools the Steelers can build on.

Kemoeatu, McFadden out

Chris Kemoeatu and Bryant McFadden are out today for the Steelers.

Ramon Foster and William Gay are in the starting lineup in their places.

Who I like, Seattle version

Thanks to Patrick – the real one – for reminding me about putting my pick for the game up on the blog.

This week seems pretty simple. The Steelers got embarrassed last week and will be looking to right the ship.

Enter Seattle, a team that has all the look of a five-win club. Add to that the fact that the Hawks are coming cross country to Pittsburgh, where they are 1-6.

It's a good game for rookie Marcus Gilbert to get his feet wet at right tackle.

Take Pittsburgh, 31-10

Week 2 Power rankings

1. Green Bay - Nice performance against a good New Orleans team.

2. New England – The Patriots looked strong on opening weekend

3. Baltimore – Impressive win by the Ravens over their biggest rival.

4. N.Y. Jets – Needed Tony Romo to be Tony Romo to win against Dallas. Luckily for them, Romo came through.

5. Philadelphia – Vick's numbers weren't great, but they were effective.

6. New Orleans – I'll give the Saints a mulligan for losing at Green Bay on opening night.

7. Steelers - Will right the ship after sleepwalking at Baltimore.

8. Houston - Looking at a possible letdown game this week at Miami after demolishing the Peyton Manning-less Colts.

9. San Diego – I had them high last week, but even though they won, they looked bad at home against a pretty mediocre Minnesota squad.

10. Detroit – Yes, I actually believe in the Lions - as long as Matthew Stafford can stay healthy.

Dropped out: Atlanta


Bottom 10

23. Kansas City – Got a feeling that wasn't an anomaly last week against the BillsI

24. Indianapolis – Could be a lot lower than this by the time Peyton Manning is ready to return.

25. Cincinnati – Caught the Browns sleeping to pull out a win. Still not very good.

26. Jacksonville – Curious move cutting David Garrard.

27. Minnesota – Donovan McNabb looks like and old, old man.

28. Denver – Lost at home to Oakland and looked bad doing it.

29. Seattle – Truly awful performance at San Francisco

30. Tennessee – Has to get Chris Johnson going.

31. Cleveland – The Browns are improving, but still have a way to go.

32. Carolina – Nice start by Cam Newton, but he won't be taking anyone by surprise now that he's starting to build some game tape.

What's up

I saw a Steelers locker room today that wasn't overly concerned about its loss last Sunday at Baltimore.

Before you fly off the handle about that, realize that this is professional football. These guys can't dwell too long on what happened last week - at least not if they hope to take care of the next task.

Are the Steelers more focused this week following their 35-7 whipping?

Sure.

But they're not going to allow it to consume them. That's one of the signs of a solid locker room.

© Six of the last seven times the Steelers have lost their season opener, they've rebounded to make the playoffs.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Included in those losses are some pretty bad ones - 30-14 at New England in 2002, 21-3 at Jacksonville in 2001, 16-0 against Baltimore in 2000, 37-7 to Dallas in 1997, 24-9 at Jacksonville in 1996 and 26-9 against Dallas in 1994.

You get the idea.

When the Steelers lay an egg in the opener, it's usually a pretty big one.

© Why in the world would the NFL put Bill Levy on Sunday's Steelers-Seahawks game?

Given the PR saavy the NFL usually shows, putting Levy on Sunday's game makes absolutely no sense.

Somebody in the league office got caught sleeping at the wheel on this one.

Tuesday with Tomlin

Mike Tomlin confirmed today that right tackle Willie Colon suffered a torn triceps muscle in Sunday's loss at Baltimore. Surgery was performed today.

Tomlin said rookie Marcus Gilbert, a second round pick out of Florida, will get the first chance to replace Colon at right tackle Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

The move actually makes the most sense.

The Steelers think Gilbert is their left tackle of the future. He played well enough in the preseason that they were comfortable with him as one of the seven players active on game day against the Ravens.

Why not put him in there and see if he runs with it?

The Steelers placed Colon on injured reserve and signed veteran Jamon Meredith.


Meredith, a 2009 fifth round draft pick of Buffalo, has spent time with the Bills, Giants, Packers and Lions. He has started four NFL games.

© Tomlin said linebacker James Harrison, who left Sunday's game with a knee injury, is OK.

Steelers lose Colon for season

The Steelers have lost starting right guard Willie Colon to a torn triceps, marking the second time in the past two seasons Colon will be gone for the year.

Colon, who missed all of last season with an Achilles' tendon tear, apparently suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

He signed a five-year deal worth $29 million to stay with the Steelers in training camp.

When Colon was lost last season, the Steelers signed veteran tackle Flozell Adams as his replacement. That is the likely course of action again this year, though it's likely that Chris Scott or Trai Essex will get first opportunity this week against Seattle at Heinz Field.

Post-Baltimore thoughts

Boy, I didn't see that one coming.

The Baltimore Ravens clearly treated Sunday's game against the Steelers as their season. And they probably should have.

While it may be a little short-sighted considering it's a 16-game season, the Ravens treated Sunday's game as their Super Bowl.

They knew if they lost, they'd be chasing the Steelers all season and would need to win in Pittsburgh to even things out - much like what happened to Pittsburgh in 2010.

Baltimore outplayed the Steelers in every facet because their stars showed up.

Yes, Baltimore has 20 new players. But they still have their stars.

Ray Rice was a one-man wrecking crew for the offense, gaining over 150 total yards.

Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs all made plays on defense.

Pittsburgh's stars were invisible.

Football is still a team game, but stars still rule the day.

© If you needed any clue to how important this game was to Baltimore, you only had to see coach John Harbaugh running around on the sidelines like a maniac throughout the game.

Harbaugh knew his team hadn't beaten the Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger at QB in seven tries.

To be considered a championship contender, they had to show they could beat Roethlisberger.

© It was a humbled locker room after that game. The Steelers were beaten physically and mentally by the Ravens.

But, it is still just one game. It will be interesting to see how this team bounces back next week at home against Seattle, a team they should trounce.

More importantly, it will be interesting to see how this team works this week in preparation.

Mike Tomlin took it easy on the team throughout training camp and it showed Sunday.

I don't expect Tomlin to suddenly start brow-beating or physically beating up a veteran squad, but it was obvious the team wasn't ready to play from the start - beginning with Rice's long run on the first play of the game.

© The Steelers first two turnovers, a pair of fumbles, were caused by miscommunications on the offensive line.

On the first, they allowed Suggs to come up the middle untouched and hit Roethlisberger, forcing a fumble. On the second, it was Ngata being passed off untouched.

Even if it wasn't my job to block either of those two guys, I'd have my eye on where they are. They are both too good and too important to what Baltimore does up front to just ignore.

It appeared that Doug Legursky and Maurkice Pouncey were at fault both times. Those two didn't get a lot of snaps together in the preseason.

© Antonio Brown was targeted nine times, which resulted in two completions. He and Roethlisberger seemed to be off throughout the game.

© For many teams, having more turnovers than Super Bowl wins wouldn't be a big deal. For the Steelers, that's saying something.

Greetings from Baltimore

I found Troy Polamalu's Tweet regarding his new contract interesting. Polamalu Tweeted that this new deal will allow him to retire as a Steeler.

That would mean Polamalu plans to retire by 2014. That will most certainly be the passing of an era, though Ben Roethlisberger will still have a few good years left in him.

© The line on the Steelers versus Ravens game has moved dramatically. When it opened, Pittsburgh was a 2 1/2-point underdog. Now, the Steelers are favored by a point.

That means a lot of money in Vegas went toward Pittsburgh.

Apparently, everyone else saw the Ravens play in the preseason.

© Expect the Steelers to have Charlie Batch as Ben Roethlisberger's backup today, with Dennis Dixon inactive. Hines Ward would be the Steelers emergency QB.

The NFL as it is now

Thursday night, we saw what happens to a pass defense when a good quarterback is on the field.

Only we got to see it the entire game, as both Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans' Drew Brees threw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns.

The way the NFL's rules are now, the game heavily – and that doesn't begin to describe it – favors the offense.

People in Pittsburgh tend to look at the Steelers pass defense and say, "They get exposed every time they play an elite quarterback."

That's a silly statement. Everybody's defense gets exposed when playing an elite quarterback. That's what makes those quarterbacks elite!

The trick is to outscore the opposing offense.

New Orleans put 30-plus points on the board Thursday night. It wasn't enough because the Packers were in the 40s and the Saints made a couple of mistakes inside Green Bay's red zone.

But with the offense the Steelers now have, they have the weapons to get into a shootout such as Thursday night's game and come out on the winning side.

The days of three yards and a cloud of dust and defenses dominating games are over. The NFL in its current state is all about putting points on the board and doing so quickly.

Redman to get more work

Isaac Redman said he's been told by running backs coach Kirby Wilson that the Steelers are kicking around the idea of giving him a series each in the first and second half to spell Rashard Mendenhall.

Redman ran hard through the preseason and offers a little bit of a bull in a China shop style. He deserves some more carries.

Read more about it in my story in Friday's Observer-Reporter.

© Jerricho Cotchery missed practice again today and is looking questionable to play against the Ravens - not that he would have seen much playing time anyway.

Week 1 power rankings

I haven't done them in a while, but I think I'll bring back the power rankings this season.

Here are my top 10 and bottom 10 NFL teams as we head into the season.

1. Green Bay - The champs until somebody proves otherwise.

2. Steelers - The AFC champs were thisclose to being the Super Bowl champions last season.

3. San Diego – The new kickoff rule will help the Chargers greatly.

4. Atlanta – Julio Jones gives them another receiving threat.

5. N.Y. Jets – Somebody needs to tell Rex Ryan he hasn't won anything yet.

6. New Orleans – Everyone is forgetting about the Saints.

7. New England – May take a slight step back.

8. Philadelphia – Not sold on the Eagles.

9. Baltimore – The Ravens aren't as good as they were last season.

10. Houston - Should win the AFC South in a walkover. Matt Schaub is the only returning starting QB in the division.


Bottom 10

23. Minnesota – What was it about Donovan McNabb's play last season that didn't make the Vikings feel he was washed up?

24. Washington – Mike Shanahan came back for this?

25. Cleveland – The Browns are improving, but still have a way to go.

26. Tennessee – How many games will Matt Hasselbeck play?

27. Buffalo – Getting better, but slowly.

28. Seattle – Hard to believe this team was in the playoffs last season.

29. Denver – Bad defense that did little to get better.

30. Jacksonville – Curious move cutting David Garrard.

31. Cincinnati – Too many rookies at key positions, particularly on offense.

32. Carolina – Little talent anywhere.

Not much news with Tuesday Tomlin

Mike Tomlin held his first Tuesday press conference of the season and there wasn't a lot of news to be had.

On the injury front, Tomlin said rookie linebacker Chris Carter (hamstring) is looking like the only player who won't be available to play Sunday in Baltimore.

Cornerback Ike Taylor had the pins removed from his broken thumb today, but Tomlin doesn't think that will hinder Taylor against the Ravens.

© Tomlin did say he likes the fact that so many people are focusing on the age of the Steelers, particularly on defense.

"Keep talking about how old they are," Tomlin said. "That makes my job easier."

Practice squad set

The Steelers haven't officially announced it yet, but a number of guys were at practice today and in the locker room afterward.

Here's who I saw today.

OT Trevis Turner; TE Jamie McCoy; RB John Clay; LB Morty Ivy; DE Corbin Bryant; WR Tyler Grisham; OL John Malecki; and safety Da'Mon Cromartie Smith.

I previously thought I saw guard Keith Williams – and they didn't take down his nameplate from the locker – but it was another guy.

The Steelers have confirmed the above signings.

© All starters were accounted for and practicing today, including cornerbacks Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden.

It marked one of just a handful of times both starting corners have been on the field together.

Steelers start making moves

The Steelers have placed quarterback Byron Leftwich on their Reserve/Injured List and released 21 others, reducing their roster to 58 players. Leftwich suffered a broken arm in the Steelers’ third preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons and will miss the 2011 season.

The team needs to release five more players before Saturday’s 6 p.m. deadline to get their roster to the league-mandated 53 players.

The 21 players released today include linebackers Baraka Atkins, Mario Harvey, Chris McCoy and Mortty Ivy, defensive lineman Corbin Bryant, defensive backs Brett Greenwood, Macho Harris, Donovan Warren and Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, running backs James Johnson and John Clay, offensive linemen Colin Miller, Kyle Jolly, John Malecki, Trevis Turner and Keith Williams, wide receivers Armand Robinson, Wes Lyons and Tyler Grisham, tight end Jamie McCoy and kicker Swayze Waters.

Post-Carolina thoughts

The Steelers made it through their final preseason game without any major injuries, which was the best they could hope for.

They also got some nice contributions from players who had been out throughout most of the preseason, Emmanuel Sanders and Cortez Allen.

Sanders wasn’t an unknown commodity and the Steelers knew he would be a contributor in 2011. They just weren’t sure when after he had two offseason foot surgeries.

But Sanders had four catches for 60 yards, showing he’s ready to roll in the opener at Baltimore.

Allen, meanwhile, is a raw rookie who had missed the team’s first three preseason games. The fourth-round draft pick showed his athleticism, recording two tackles and defending three passes, including one that he batted into the air for teammate Will Allen to pick off.

There’s now no way the Steelers can risk trying to slip Allen onto the practice squad.

Fellow rookie Curtis Brown also showed some nice coverage skills, while last week’s star, Crezdon Butler had an up-and-down game, making a couple of nice plays, but also allowing a touchdown – though safety help over the top would have helped.

© Morty Ivy also made a strong case to stick on the roster, at least as a special teams player.

Ivy had a team-high nine tackles, a sack, a pass defense and a quarterback hit.

One would think that Stevenson Sylvester is safe, but could Ivy push Larry Foote off the roster?

That’s doubtful as well, but it shows you the kind of tough decisions the Steelers face in the next two days.

© It was about time for Jason Worilds to show up in a game and he finally did.

Yes, he was unblocked on his sack, but he showed nice burst throughout the game getting down the line of scrimmage.

I liked the sense of urgency he played with and would like to see more of it.

© Jonathan Dwyer, welcome to the team.

Again, like Worilds, I liked the sense of urgency I saw from Dwyer. Mike Tomlin likely noticed as well.

© David Johnson looks much quicker in the open field than previous No. 2 tight end Matt Spaeth, even if he doesn’t offer Spaeth’s height.

Then again, it would be difficult not to look quicker than Spaeth.

He’s a better blocker as well – again, something that isn’t all that difficult.

© Wesyle Saunders has wrapped up the No. 3 tight end position.

© I don’t see how the coaching staff can cut Corbin Bryant, but looking at the numbers at other positions, it will also be difficult to keep him.

That will also leave a tough decision between Chris Hoke and Steve McLendon.

McLendon still has some practice squad eligibility, which could mean he's headed there again.

Bryant, however, would get scooped up in a heartbeat.

© The Steelers look like a team that can't wait to roll into Baltimore in a little over a week.

The bubble watch

Here are some players who need big games tonight to earn spots on the roster:

Chris Hoke - Youngsters Steve McLendon and Corbin Bryant are pushing hard for roster spots. Hokie is a locker room favorite and would be a tough cut, and he's carved out a 10-year career by beating the odds. But the Steelers need to get younger and he could be a casualty.

William Gay - It's telling that the Steelers always slide Gay inside to the slot when they bring their nickel corner on the field. They don't trust anyone else just yet to play the slot. But that could change. Bryant McFadden is off the watch list because the coaching staff is still concerned about ability of the young guys to stay healthy, but Gay could be pushed out if Cortez Allen comes out with a big effort.

Jonathan Dwyer - Mike Tomlin is pushing Dwyer hard to become more than what he is. John Clay and possibly even James Johnson will get an opportunity to unseat Dwyer as the No. 4 running back. Right now, he's got the spot by default.

Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith - A big game from Cromartie-Smith could make things interesting for Will Allen and/or Ryan Mundy. Cromartie-Smith has been getting looks on all of the first team special teams units.

Chris Scott - He opened training camp with an opportunity to win the starting right guard spot. But he whiffed on that. The signing of Trai Essex puts him in position to possibly get cut.

Batch to start

Charlie Batch will get the start at QB on Thursday in the Steelers preseason finale at Carolina, with Dennis Dixon following him.

Starter Ben Roethlisberger will not play at all.

Batch would appear to have the leg up to be Roethlisberger's primary backup, but there is also some concern among the coaching staff about having Batch play behind the third-string offensive line, which also factored into the decision to give him the start.

The staff feels Dixon is better able to escape pressure behind what is not a very good unit.

© Doug Legursky will get the start at right guard in the preseason finale, to get his chance "to state his case," according to Mike Tomlin.

Legursky will likely be the starter when the Steelers open in Baltimore.

© In addition to Roethlisberger, Ike Taylor, Chris Carter and Jerricho Cotchery will definitely not play.

Chances are, James Farrior, Troy Polamalu, Bryant McFadden, Maurkice Pouncey and Casey Hampton won't play either.

If Pouncey doesn't play, Trai Essex will start at center.

© The Steelers released nose tackle Anthony Gray, wide receiver Terrence McCrae, linebacker Chris Ellis and corner Niles Brinkley to get down to the 80-man roster limit.

Post-Atlanta thoughts

Ben Roethlisberger is 21 of 31 of 361 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the preseason.

Most of that has come in the past two weeks against Atlanta and Philadelphia, a pair of NFC playoff teams a year ago.

I don't know what else to say about that other than his passer rating is 146.6 in the preseason.

© OK, here's one more thing to say about that. Mike Wallace has two catches for 9 yards and Roethlisberger has a 146.6 passer rating.

The Steelers' opponents this season should be very, very afraid.

© It's too bad about the broken arm suffered by Byron Leftwich. He's a class act and you hate to see that happen.

But it did make the Steelers' situation at QB much easier to navigate.

Given that Leftwich likely will be out until at least October, it's likely the team will place him on the disabled list and roll with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch as the backups.

© Both Casey Hampton (arm) and Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) were also injured, but neither is serious.

Keenan Lewis' knee injury also is not considered serious, though Miguel Chavis is done with a torn pectoral muscle.

© Mike Tomlin to Antonio Brown as he entered the locker room , "Don't let it consume you."

Good advice to a player who looks every bit of a superstar in the making.

Tomlin had some choice words for the young man after he drew a taunting penalty at the end of his 77-yard catch and run.

It's unlikely Brown will make that mistake again.

© The Falcons threw the ball 42 times in the first half and dropped back to pass 44 times – two were scrambles.

That resulted in 220 yards passing and 13 points.

That's Dick LeBeau defense in a nutshell.

Some will argue that it shows the Steelers still can't defend the pass. But remember that Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden were both out and Keenan Lewis left midway through the first half.

That left William Gay, Crezdon Butler and Donovan Warren covering Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, a pair of perennial Pro Bowl players, and rookie Julio Jones, whom the Falcons traded the house to move up and get in the draft.

Atlanta's passing offense looks like it will be a good one, but the Steelers defense held their own against it.

You'd like to see some sacks in 42 pass attempts, but the Steelers had pretty good pressure on Ryan throughout the first half.

© Butler made some nice plays, not including his 95-yard interception return for a touchdown, and the Steelers may have to find a way to keep him around another year.

Lewis also had his moments, most notably a nice breakup in the end zone of a pass intended for White – though he did blow a coverage just prior to that.

© Rookie defensive lineman Corbin Bryant also continues to flash some skills. With Steve McClendon continuing to make plays, and first-round pick Cameron Heyward, you wonder if Chris Hoke has to worry about a roster spot.

Thursday with Tomlin

It appears that Marcus Gilbert, a second-round draft pick, will get the start at left tackle on Thursday against the Falcons.

Jonathan Scott is still hurting with a hyperextended knee and the Steelers want to take a long look at Tony Hills at right guard.

They'd also like to get Gilbert as much experience as possible heading into the regular season, especially after he missed most of the first week of training camp with a hamstring injury.

He'll get plenty of opportunity to play against Atlanta as the starters are expected to play into the third quarter.

© Tomlin ruled out cornerback Ike Taylor for Saturday's game, even though Taylor has resumed practicing.

© In addition to Scott, cornerbacks Cortez Allen, Bryant McFadden, wide receivers Jerricho Cotchery and Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Mario Harvey are questionable to play.

© Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was at the Steelers facility on Thursday watching practice.

Wednesday news and notes

Ike Taylor is getting very close to returning to play, despite having a broken thumb.

Taylor won't play in this weekend's preaseason game against the Falcons, but he still working hard and will be ready to roll in the preseason.

© Bruce Arians said today that Trai Essex, in addition to being capable of playing guard or tackle, is now the Steelers third center.

Everyone worried about that third center position can now rest easily.

The ability of Essex to play multiple positions, including center, which I had forgotten about, could help him lock up a roster spot, despite his late signing.

© David Johnson has locked up the No. 2 tight end position, according to Arians, but the No. 3 spot is wide open.

© Former Steelers cornerback Jack Butler was nominated by the Hall of Fame senior committee for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Considering that no nominee by the senior committee has ever not made the hall, Butler is as good as in.

Tuesday news and notes

The big news of the day was not the earthquake that shook the Pittsburgh area and the Steelers' facility on the South Side, but the signing of linebacker Lawrence Timmons.

Timmons got a six-year extension worth $50 million from the Steelers, giving them three linebackers who are earning an average of nearly $10 million per year.

That's a lot of money tied up in the front seven and the defense in general.

But it also means the Steelers have now tied up their two youngest defensive starters – Timmons and LaMarr Woodley – to long-term deals.

That's significant considering they are the only two starters who are under 30.

The team still has yet to do anything with strong safety Troy Polamalu, but may wait on that. Polamalu could be given the franchise tag at the end of the season.

© Speaking of young defensive players, rumblings are getting stronger that Bryant McFadden may be the odd man out when the Steelers start cutting corners – no pun intended.

The thinking is that at this point in his career, McFadden is what he is. He's not going to get any better. And what he is right now is adequate.

But would the defense be any worse off with, say, Keenan Lewis in the starting lineup opposite Ike Taylor?

At least there is the opportunity that Lewis could still get better.

And with a number of young corners on the roster who the Steelers don't want to give up on, it may not make sense to keep McFadden and his higher salary hit and take the chance on somebody signing Crezdon Butler or Cortez Allen if they are released.

© Trai Essex admitted to allowing himself to get out of shape in the offseason, which was a big reason why the Steelers didn't re-sign him.

His signing, even at this late date, could mean the Steelers aren't happy with the progress made by some of their young linemen, particularly Chris Scott.

Scott was given the chance to win the right guard spot and failed badly against Washington. He followed that up with a sub-par effort last week against Philadephia.

There is also some concern that Jonathan Scott's knee injury may not be completely healed when the Steelers roll into Baltimore in Week 1.

Looking at 53

With two preseason games now in hand and training camp over, it's time to start thinking about how the Steelers' roster will shake down.

Here's how I see it right now:

QB (3) - Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Dennis Dixon. I'm keeping Dixon over Charlie Batch because if you cut Dixon, somebody else will sign him. If Batch is released, he's not likely to sign elsewhere and you can always bring him back if there is a need. Dixon, however, could be trade bait.

RB (4) - Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, Mewelde Moore, Jonathan Dwyer. Dwyer makes the roster after the injury to Barron Batch. The Steelers could keep an eye on the waiver wire here to see if somebody of value gets cut free.

OL (10) - Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Chris Kemoeatu, Jonathan Scott, Doug Legursky, Tony Hills, Chris Scott, Ramon Foster, Marcus Gilbert and Keith Williams. The Steelers could go with nine here and try to sneak Williams onto the practice squad. Or they could keep a guy like Kyle Jolly on the active roster. But things are pretty cut and dried, barring an injury.

WR (5) - Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, and Jerricho Cotchery. Arnaz Battle could be kept around, but something tells me they'll need an extra roster spot for defensive backs. Plus, with the new kickoff rule in place, special teams isn't as important as it was before.

TE (3) - Heath Miller, David Johnson, Wesyle Saunders. Veteran John Gilmore has shown little. Saunders really hasn't, either, but he's got the potential to get better. This will be a position where the Steelers will be watching the waiver wire for help.

DL (6) - Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Cameron Heyward, Chris Hoke. Corbin Bryant is a guy pushing here. It's possible that he's shown enough that if the Steelers try to sneak him onto the practice squad, one of the other 3-4 teams in the league will snatch him up. But because they almost have to keep 10 defensive backs, you have to find a roster spot somewhere.

LB (9) - James Harrison, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Chris Carter, Jason Worilds, Larry Foote, Stevenson Sylvester, Morty Ivy. Ivy gets a roster spot as a special teams ace.

DB (10) - Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, William Gay, Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Will Allen, Ryan Mundy, Keenan Lewis, Curtis Brown, Donovan Warren. This is a tough decision with Warren getting a roster spot over Cortez Allen, who has practiced too little to be of any help, and safety Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a veteran cut loose here - Gay or even McFadden - to open a spot for a younger player. This is easily the toughest position on the team to cut because many of the players are so similar and health has been an issue throughout training camp.

Specialists (3) - Greg Warren, Daniel Sepulveda, Shaun Suisham.


© In other news Monday, the Steelers signed veteran offensive lineman Trai Essex. That's likely a response to both Jonathan Scott and Marcus Gilbert getting hurt last week against Philadelphia.

The team now lists Tony Hills as No. 1 at RG, so if they want to get him some snaps there, they need somebody with some experience to line up at LT.

Post-Eagles thoughts

Heck of a difference Troy Polamalu and James Harrison make in the Steelers defense.

Polamalu looked like he was in mid-season form, while Harrison was getting a good push on the pocket as well.

Polamalu, in fact, looked like a demon on the field Thursday night.

As he was walking into the locker room after the game, coach Mike Tomlin said, "I'm over it," to Polamalu.

Tomlin was a bit peeved that Polamalu put himself in jeopardy making his interception return at the end of the first half.

But, as Polamalu told me, "It doesn't matter to me if it's a preseason game or regular season. Once I've got the ball in my hands, instincts take over."

Laying down once he picked off Michael Vick was never an option.

© The Steelers were a little ticked off about the new rule that you can't engage the quarterback following a turnover unless he attempts to make a play.

Vick, an excellent athlete, took Polamalu down pretty hard following his interception. There were a number of Steelers around Vick at the time, but they did not attempt to block him for fear of being penalized and/or fined for taking a shot at the QB.

© Swayze Waters isn't much of a field goal kicker, but he could be a weapon on kickoffs. Shaun Suisham was scratched Thursday and Waters handled all of the kicking duties - except punts.

His kickoffs were deep, except one the Steelers told him to kick short and allow a return.

With the new kickoff rules, it may make sense for teams to carry a guy who can put the ball through the back of the end zone instead of an extra DB or WR to play special teams.

If you're putting the ball out of the end zone, who needs coverage guys?

© Jonathan Scott, who left on the first play of the game with a right knee injury, said it's not a long-term injury. But he could miss the remainder of the preseason.

Tony Hills acquitted himself well at left tackle after rookie Marcus Gilbert went down as well.

© First-year corner Donovan Warren seems to be making the most of his opportunity for more playing time due to other injuries in the secondary.

Warren was pretty active against the Eagles - in the few plays the defense was on the field.

He came in as the nickel corner, with William Gay sliding inside to the slot.

© Dennis Dixon played the entire second half at QB, with Charlie Batch getting not field time at all.

Don't read too much into that, however. The coaching staff does not want to put Batch on the field behind the third and fourth-team offensive line because it's pretty bad.

They trust that Dixon has enough elusiveness to take care of himself.

Then again, if the coaching staff is so worried about Batch not being able to fend for himself, maybe he shouldn't be on this team.

© Ben Roethlisberger made some beautiful throws in this game, but his best play may have been a 12-yard dumpoff to Rashard Mendenhall.

Roethlisberger was pressured to his left and waited for Mendenhall to release before feathering the ball over the outstretched hands of a pass rusher.

It showed a lot of patience and maturity.

The Hair and the Glare

As I said last week, we got a good look at what the Steelers defense would look like without both Troy Polamalu and James Harrison in 2011 against the Redskins and it wasn't pretty.

Without the Hair and the Glare, the Steelers are going nowhere.

But both will be in the lineup when the Steelers host Philadelphia Thursday and it will be interesting to see them play in game conditions.

Polamalu is, of course, coming off an Achilles' tendon injury that limited him so greatly in 2010 that all he did was win the Defensive Player of Year award. Harrison, meanwhile, had a pair of back surgeries that sapped him of some leg strength.

Neither has gone crazy in training camp, taking things easy. But if they're on the field, even for a preseason game, you can bet they'll be going all out.

© I found it interesting that the Steelers moved defensive lineman Miguel Chavis to tight end.

Chavis made some plays against the Redskins and is very athletic, even at 285 pounds.

It's probable that this is a move made for practice squad purposes - to steal a spot because they're going to have to try to sneak some draft picks onto the squad, ie. a young corner or two – and can save a spot by teaching Chavis to play tight end as well.

© Limas Sweed was a dead man walking and his teammates knew it.

A couple of years ago, you'd see Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes playing jokes on Sweed during practice, yukking it up with him on the sidelines.

This year, it was almost like he was a leper. He moped around the practice field and his teammates seemed to avoid him.

It just goes to show how things can change.

Kevin Colbert will take some heat for cutting loose a former second-round draft pick, but let's be honest, this wasn't Alonzo Jackson-like.

Had the Steelers not taken Sweed in the second round, somebody else would have. Had the Steelers not selected Jackson in the second round, it's likely he would have slipped to the middle rounds.

Sweed may also get an opportunity to play for somebody else in the league, ala. Ricardo Colclough, another former second-round bust.

Colclough was considered a bust with the Steelers, but spent six seasons in the NFL. That's not a bust. He was an NFL player.

Jackson was out of football a year after the Steelers cut him. That, my friends, is a bust.

Last day of camp

Mike Tomlin held his final press conference of training camp 2011 and was much more interesting today than he was at his PC last week:

© Tomlin said Troy Polamalu and James Harrison will play Thursday against Philadelphia after sitting against Washington.

© The starters are expected to see 20 to 25 snaps.

© Tony Hills will get the start at RG, though at practice Wednesday, Doug Legursky lined up with first team at RG, while Chris Kemoeatu was at LG.

© Emmanuel Sanders, Cortez Allen, Crezdon Butler, Bryant McFadden, Ike Taylor, Chris Kemoeatu and Mario Harvey are out as of now. That list could be added to later.

© Tomlin did not discount having his kickers boot the ball shorter to allow for returns to get a look at his special teams coverage units.

© Tomlin also said he wants to get an extended look at Jonathan Dwyer in this game.

I talked to Dwyer at lunch. Said he's lost 15 pounds since he's been in camp.

© The Steelers were on the turf here at Saint Vincent College and Aaron Smith did not practice again. Tomlin said he has given some of the older guys days off when they are on the turf here to save their knees.

The Steelers wrapped up camp having had just five practices on grass because of heavy rains throughout camp.

Dwyer a big winner

Unless the Steelers make a move to sign a running back who gets cut loose in the next couple of weeks, Jonathan Dwyer has likely made this team.

The season-ending knee injury to Baron Batch last week made that a strong possibility, but rookie John Clay walking out of practice Monday all but assured it.

Clay was eventually talked into coming back onto the practice field, but you can bet the coaching staff isn't happy with him.

Of course, Clay probably sees the writing on the wall. He hasn't been too impressive in camp and was equally blah in the team's first preseson game at Washington.

So that leaves Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, Mewelde Moore and … Dwyer.

The Steelers will be watching the waiver wire closely if someone interesting gets cut loose. And no, that somebody will not be Tiki Barber.

Kemoeatu activated

The Steelers activated guard Chris Kemoeatu on Sunday, placing defensive lineman Sunny Harris on the waived/injured list.

Kemoeatu has been on the PUP list since the opening of training camp after showing up with swelling on his knee caused by workouts to get himself ready for the season.

© Word is that James Harrison, who sat out Friday night's preseason game to rest his back, has seen some of his leg power decrease.

According to sources, Harrison used to squat over 600 pounds in the weight room. But after a pair of offseason back surgeries, he's at 365 or so.

That's not good.

Post-Washington thoughts

All the people who want to trade or cut James Harrison and allow Troy Polamalu to leave as a free agent at the end of the season got a good look what that would look like for the Steelers Friday night against Washington.

It wasn't pretty.

Thankfully for the Steelers, both will be in uniform for them this season.

Sure, the Steelers played pretty vanilla defensively in the first half against the Redskins, but Washington was gouging Pittsburgh on the ground when both teams had their starters in the game. That's something that would be much less likely to happen with Harrison and Polamalu in the game.

© Antonio Brown continues to be perhaps the most impressive-looking player for the Steelers.

It's a shame the new kickoff rules aren't going to allow for him to make too many returns.

© The Steelers started the game with three tight ends, with David Johnson in the backfield and John Gilmore and Heath Miller on the line.

But Jamie McCoy did replace Johnson on the second series as the H-back.

© Tough game for Ryan Mundy. He was getting worked over so much in coverage that you would have sworn the Redskins game planned it.

© The Steelers dodged a bullet with Lawrence Timmons, who went down in the first half with a stinger that looked worse than it apparently was.

They weren't as fortunate with Ike Taylor, who suffered a broken thumb.

Taylor will be ready for the regular season opener, but it will give the Steelers a great opportunity to get some of their young corners more experience - if they can stay healthy.

© If you don't like the way Isaac Redman runs with the ball, you don't like football.

© Ramon Foster started at right guard, but was replaced by Chris Scott in the second series. Scott had a tough go of it, allowing a running play to get blown up and allowing a sack.

Steelers sign Cotchery and other news, notes

The Steelers signed veteran wideout Jerricho Cotchery on Thursday, adding some key depth to a position that has been banged up considerably at training camp.

It remains to be seen how Cotchery fits into the wide receiver depth chart, but the Steelers were concerned that they had precious little veteran depth behind Hines Ward.

Yes, Mike Wallace is an emerging star, but his inexperience showed up in the Super Bowl. And with Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown entering just their second year – and Sanders missing the past two weeks of practice – the Steelers were concerned about what would happen if Ward were injured.

The move doesn't bode well for Limas Sweed and possibly Arnaz Battle.

Sweed is all but done in Pittsburgh now, while the signing of Cotchery shows the team has no use for Battle as anything but a special teams cover man.

© It's a shame rookie Baron Batch suffered an apparent season-ending ACL tear Wednesday. But it opens the door for Jonathan Dwyer to make this team again.

It also assures Mewelde Moore of a roster spot.

© Second-year pro Chris Scott missed all of training camp in 2010 with a broken foot, but the Steelers have been impressed enough with his play in camp this year to give him a legitimate shot at starting at right guard.

At 6-4, 319 pounds, Scott is nearly as big as 2010 starter Ramon Foster, but much more agile.

Tuesday news and notes

The Steelers entertained yet another tight end on Tuesday as Reggie Kelly became the latest guy to come through Latrobe.

Despite his reputation as a solid blocker Wesyle Sanders hasn't shown it yet and David Johnson is more of an H-back than he is a second tight end. Recently signed veteran John Gilmore looks fairly unimpressive as well.

Who knew it would be so difficult to replace Matt Spaeth?

Jamie "The Real" McCoy continues to impress as a willing blocker, but, like Johnson, he's more of an H-back type than an in-line blocker. McCoy held his own in two out of three blocking drills working against James Harrison.

© With Bryant McFadden out Tuesday, Keenan Lewis took snaps with the first-team defense and had one of his better practices.

That's big news for the Steelers, who are still hoping Lewis turns into a player.

© Though Keith Williams is officially listed as his primary backup, it was Doug Legursky filling in for Chris Kemoeatu today. Chris Scott was at RG for Ramon Foster, who is suffering from concussion issues.

© The Steelers really like what they've seen out of rookie inside linebacker Mario Harvey.

Harvey is a thick, 6-0, 250 pounds, but is lightning quick.

Monday's news and notes

Jonathan Scott tried to gut it out at practice Monday, but his injured ankle just wouldn't let him.

It's not hard to see why Scott would attempt to tough things out, while Ramon Foster, who's injury on Saturday was not considered as serious as Scott's would not.

Scott is the definition of NFL journeyman. He's got a chance to be the Steelers' starting left tackle - in fact, he might have it be default.

And he doesn't want to give that up. But after seeing the look on his face after he shut it down Monday, he may have learned that, sometimes, it's better to bite the bullet and not practice rather than risk injuring something worse.

© Rookie linebacker Chris Carter just might be a quick learner.

After looking horrible in the tight ends on backers running drill last week, Carter did a credible job working against David Johnson, consistently getting his shoulder around the corner and taking the much bigger Johnson where he wanted him to go.

Jason Worilds wasn't anywhere near as successful as Carter was working against Johnson. In fact, Johnson stoned Worilds time and again at the line of scrimmage, pretty much having his way with him.

© Chris Kemoeatu is now running, meaning he is getting close to being activated off the PUP list.

Hines Ward was, of course, activated Monday.

© Tuesday will be a big day for many of the team's rookies and first-year players who have been missing time. If they don't practice Tuesday, they are unlikely to play in Friday's preseason opener.

© Jerrico Cotchery came and left Saint Vincent College on Monday.

The Steelers seem insistent on finding a veteran wideout to add to their roster.

That tells me they don't think Arnaz Battle can help them in the passing game. Limas Sweed doesn't have any real experience, either, and is on the outside looking in.

Tyler Grisham? He's got less experience than Battle and Sweed.

Weekend news, notes

Friday night at Latrobe High School Stadium, I was told the Steelers would work on goal line plays to end the practice.

Usually, that means putting the ball at the 2 and having the offense try to score.

In this case, it means putting the offense at its own 2 and having it come out of its own end zone.

The first play? An end around to Antonio Brown.

Brown got out of the end zone for about a five-yard gain, but a couple of screen passes were blown up.

It was almost like the Steelers were figuring out what would and would not work in those situations.

Of course, we've seen the team have problems in that same situation in plenty of big games over the past few years, so maybe it wasn't a bad idea.

© Speaking of Brown, he's been very, very active in the first week-plus of training camp. The young receiver is really taking a big step forward, particularly with Hines Ward and Emmanuel Sanders sitting out.

© If you've been following my Tweets or listened to me on the radio, you know I've been impressed with Jamie McCoy, a first-year tight end who spent time with the Rams last season.

At 6-3, 240 pounds, McCoy is a bit undersized, but he's an active blocker.

He'd likely have to make the roster as an h-back and the Steelers already have one of those in David Johnson.

Can McCoy beat out Johnson? Possibly. Johnson has not been as impressive as a blocker as he had been in previous camps.

But it's unlikely that both McCoy and Johnson make the team as backups to Heath Miller.

© Rookie running back Baron Batch is getting plenty of looks. Friday night, he was matched against Lawrence Timmons – the new defensive champion. Coach Mike Tomlin made sure McCoy was matched against Timmons as well.

Both held their own, splitting a pair of reps with Timmons.

Saturday, Batch scored on a pair of goal-line carries in the goal-line drill.

© Jonathan Scott went down Saturday with an ankle injury. You can bet the Steelers were getting ready to dial Max Starks or Flozell Adams.

Tony Hills was his replacement.

It doesn't appear serious, but gives an idea of just how precarious the team's situation is at offensive tackle, particularly left tackle.

© Both Ed Bouchette and Peter King, a pair of Hall of Fame voters, Tweeted Saturday night that they believe Dermontti Dawson will be part of next year's Hall of Fame class.

It's about time.

Woodley signs, what's next

LaMarr Woodley signed a six-year deal worth $61.5 million to stay in Pittsburgh early Friday morning, also clearing up some cap space for the Steelers.

The question now is who's next?

Both Lawrence Timmons and Troy Polamalu are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the conclusion of the 2011 season, while wide receiver Mike Wallace will be restricted.

That's three pretty key components to this team.

Some would argue that if Timmons is now given a long-term deal, it would lock up quite a bit of money at the linebacker position.

James Harrison just signed a six-year, $51.75-million deal a couple of years ago, while James Farrior is pulling down around $2.5 million.

The question is, do they want to take a chance at losing a young star such as Timmons and what exactly is he worth. Do you take the chance on signing him now based on his current level of play or do you roll the dice and if he has a great season, as many expect, does he now cost $10 million per season as well?

Timmons has played well to this point in his career - great in some stretches. But he has yet to do it over the course of a season.

Polamalu, on the other hand, is a completely proven player, albeit one who is going to miss some games here and there. But the Steelers' record with him on the field is remarkably better than it is without him. He's also one of the faces of the franchise, if not the NFL.

It would be hard to imagine him playing elsewhere.

In Wallace, you have a player who took over the No. 1 receiver role in 2010 and is a blossoming star. With Hines Ward near the end of his storied career, it's up to Wallace to become the leader of the wideouts.

The bet here is that the Steelers try to work something out with Timmons and Polamalu now, with Polamalu being the bigger priority.

They could possibly get something done with him before the season begins that will not only lock him up for another four seasons after this one - making that his last contract - but also lower his cap number slightly for this season.

And if they can't get something done with Timmons, they'll have the franchise tag available once the season ends.

As for Wallace, he'll likely become a restricted free agent - though the Steelers will place the highest-level tag on him and continue to work on a new deal.

There's also the chance that the money saved with Woodley's new deal will be used to bring back one of the two offensive tackles cut last week, Max Starks or Flozell Adams.

© Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher is in camp and will be attending the team's 7 p.m. practice tonight at Latrobe High School Stadium.

© Woodley, Ben Roethlisberger and James Farrior will be at Heinz Field Saturday filming a scene for the upcoming Batman movie being shot in Pittsburgh.

The Woodley negotiations

I had the question posed to me on another post about the Steelers and Woodley being far apart on their contract negotiations. Here are my thoughts on that situation:

They're negotiating. There's no pressure on Woodley to settle on, say, a 4-year, $20-million deal when he's going to make $10 million this season.

But, the Steelers have to be careful that they don't upset the apple cart with Woodley considering they have deals with Polamalu and Timmons to work on as well.

Woodley can't make more than Polamalu. You could argue that he shouldn't make more than Timmons. And they're not going to give him a better long-term deal than the one Harrison has now.

But, the negotiations haven't even been ongoing for a week. Something will get done at some point because the Steelers need to lower his cap nnumber so they can start working on Polamalu/Timmons.

Wednesday news and notes

It was an interesting morning with LaMarr Woodley saying the Steelers have opened negotiations with him on a new deal and then saying that the date for the league year to begin could be moved to next Tuesday.

That would mean a bunch of players would be unable to practice tomorrow as planned. They have unable to practice, waiting for a new CBA to be ratified. That has obviously not happened.

© Ryan Clark explained that the Steelers won't OK a deal that doesn't take the fining and suspension powers away from Roger Goodell.

A majority vote on the new CBA, however, is all that is needed.

© The Steelers on Wednesday worked extensively with their tight ends catching passes. Tuesday was a big day for those guys in terms of blocking.

The team is looking hard at who is going to be Heath Miller's backup.

© Somehow a rumor surfaced that the Steelers were making some kind of moves at quarterback.

Byron Leftwich, however, continues to get the second-team snaps. Charlie Batch has gotten precious little work.

That's not uncommon for Batch, but with Dennis Dixon set to return – either Thursday or next Tuesday – I have to believe he bumps Batch.

© Emmanuel Sanders was still in a walking boot, but was off the crutches today.

© Keenan Lewis was back at practice today after sitting out with hamstring issues.

Tuesday at training camp

The Steelers returned to work on Tuesday after being off Monday and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was on crutches.

Sanders had a procedure on his sore left foot, getting bone marrow from his heel injected into the area in which he had a stress fracture during the offseason.

Sanders expects to be back in two to three weeks.

© The highlight of today's practice was the linebackers vs. tight ends running drill.

I watched rookie Chris Carter, a fifth-round pick out of Fresno State a lot - as did coach Mike Tomlin.

Carter looks small compared to the team's other linebackers and that showed up in this drill. He pretty much got overpowered by anyone he went up against.

He looked better in one-on-one pass rushing drills later, but he needs to work on his functional strength.

Tomlin was riding second-year linebacker Jason Worilds pretty good throughout the drill.

Worilds told me he has added some muscle this season and is up to 257 pounds. He looked like Carter last season, so there is some hope there.

© Starring for the tight ends in the drill was first-year player Jamie McCoy. McCoy showed strong hands and good strength. He does duck his head some at contact, but that can possibly be coached out of him.

© Rookie offensive lineman Keith Williams is starting at left guard, at least until Thursday, and he has shown some pretty good nasty.

On an inside run drill Tuesday, he caught a blitzing Larry Foote and drove him into the ground.

He also held his own in one-on-one passing drills against first-round pick Cameron Heyward. Looks like the sixth-round draft pick might have a future here.

© The more I see of the punters in camp, the more sense it makes that the team resigned Daniel Sepulveda. I've seen my fill of 30 and 35-yard kicks.

Day off for Steelers

The Steelers get a day off today but that doesn't mean the front office isn't working.

In addition to working on contract extensions for strong safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker LaMarr Woodley, the Steelers are also looking to re-work quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's deal.

If some of those aren't finished by Wednesday, the team may have to do some more cutting to get under the salary cap by the Thursday deadline.

© So Dennis Dixon wants to go somewhere he can be a starter.

I thought all his college eligibility was used up.

Dixon didn't come close to showing enough last season for any NFL team to think he's capable of being its starter.

© The Steelers have re-signed DT Chris Hoke.

The other Batch shines

The Steelers agreed to terms with running back Mewelde Moore on Sunday. But the old third-down back might want to figure out a way to get back on the football field before Aug. 4 - when the league permits free agents to practice – sooner.

Rookie Barron Batch wasn't perfect in the backs on backers drill Sunday, but he did enough to show that he is an up and comer.

When you beat James Harrison, the unofficial king of the drill, it opens eyes.

In fact, Joe Greene, who was watching, leaned over to reporters and said, "That boy is from Texas," after he stoned Harrison.

For the record, Batch went 6-2 in backs on backers, a fine performance in a drill in which the defense holds all the advantages.

He also showed some nifty moves running with the ball. The Steelers may have gotten a steal in the seventh round.

© William Gay also re-signed on Sunday, giving the Steelers options at defensive back.

Many fans are still critical of Gay after his 2009 season, when he was forced into the starting lineup. But he was solid last season as the team's third corner, a role he's more suited to.

© Ben Roethlisberger wore No. 78 at practice Sunday in honor of Max Starks. No word if he'll wear 71 Tuesday when the Steelers return to practice. Then again, Starks' locker has been right next to Roethlisberger's since 2004.

© Bryant McFadden had an excellent over-the-shoulder interception in coverage against Mike Wallace on a deep pass from Roethlisberger.

© Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Heath Miller during a two-minute drill. But the drill should have ended when Antonio Brown dropped a ball over the middle on fourth down earlier. Mike Tomlin gave the offense a pass on the play because he wanted to see the drill finished.

Burress comes and goes

Plaxico Burress blew into town Saturday morning and had breakfast/lunch with the Steelers' brass, including coach Mike Tomlin.

Burress left without speaking to reporters after a more than hour-long meal, but looked to be in great shape.

He met with the Giants Friday and San Francisco and the Jets are also rumored to be interested in the receiver.

© Also in camp Saturday was former New England tight end Daniel Graham. The Steelers were kicking Graham's tires as a possible replacement for Matt Spaeth.

© Saw placekicker Shaun Suisham on the practice field kicking field goals by himself today.

Suisham, who signed a free agent contract, isn't able to practice with the team, but, apparently, kicking on his own is OK.

© According to Steelers Digest, the Steelers have signed punter Daniel Sepulveda.

© Crezdon Butler got the first chance as the team's dime corner. Of course, Keenan Lewis is in the lineup in place of Ike Taylor, so that could change.

First day notes

The Steelers opened their first practice with Chris Scott at RT, Kyle Jolly at LT and Keith Williams at LG in their first-team offense.

Keenan Lewis was running with the first team defense in place of Ike Taylor.

Veterans who signed free agent deals - or who signed their restricted offer sheets - aren't allowed to practice until Aug. 4.

© Troy Polamalu said he still isn't 100 percent recovered from his Achilles' tendon injury, but he's getting close.

He has a month to go before games begin and Polamalu is shooting for 100 percent by then.

© First-round pick Cameron Heyward missed the first 15 minutes of practice in the afternoon after signing his contract.

Then the practice was shortened by rain. Talk about timing.

© Curtis Brown has also signed, giving the Steelers all seven draft picks under contract.

© Ben Roethlisberger said there are no hard feelings between he and James Harrison.

Harrison said he should not have said what he did about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Hines Ward said he learned a valuable lesson.

Rashard Mendenhall said very little despite being given an opportunity to do so – though Mike Tomlin did yell over to the running back when he was cornered by reporters, "Sucks to be you Rashard."

© Don't expect any disciplinary action from the NFL for Ward, Harrison or Mendenhall.

Reporting time come and gone

The Steelers had another busy day, releasing tackle Max Starks and wid receiver Antwaan Randle El and signing tackles Willie Colon and Jonathan Scott.

Starks' release was purely due to cap reasons and he could be re-signed.

© Hines Ward, Chris Kemoeatu and Eugene Bright will all begin camp on the PUP list.

© For those of you who follow me on Twitter - and I don't know why you wouldn't - you know that I reported seeing a couple of draft picks in the cafeteria, including first-rounder Cameron Heyward.

I'm pretty sure - the rules are so convoluted right now - that means they have agreed to a contract. The team is not confirming that at this point, but Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin will address the media later on today.

I do know that the NFLPA is urging rookies to get to camp as soon as possible.

© Emmanuel Sanders said he had a second surgery on his broken foot 13 weeks ago, but the foot is 100 percent now.

© I didn't see any vets who did not look to be in good shape.

© The players who avoided the media today included Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison, Hines Ward and Rashard Mendenhall. They must have been off in the mountains singing campfire songs and bonding.

Burress to meet with Steelers

Per ESPN's Chris Mortensen, wide receiver Plaxico Burress will meet with the Steelers and will sign with either Pittsburgh or the Giants.

Burress, of course, began his career with the Steelers before leaving after the 2004 season for New York. He ran afoul of the law there, getting two years in prison for shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub with an handgun.

But, in my dealings with Burress, I never found him to be a bad guy. In fact, he was always pretty much a standup guy, always available and willing to talk, win or lose.

He was also well-liked by his teammates.

© In other news, the Steelers have re-signed placekicker Shaun Suisham, who was an unrestricted free agent.

Taylor returns, now on to the next business

With Ike Taylor agreeing to a four-year deal to stay with the Steelers, they can now move on to other pressing business.

Next up for the team are tackles Willie Colon, Jonathan Scott, and placekicker Shaun Suisham.

If Colon re-signs, it could be as a guard. The Steelers will speak to Flozell Adams about returning for another season, but would like him to do so for less than the $5 million he is scheduled to earn this season.

Adams, who held down the starting right tackle position in 2010 after Colon suffered an Achilles' tendon tear, will likely only return if he can remain a starter. Adams wants to make one last run at a Super Bowl and returning to the Steelers would give him a solid opportunity to do so.

Steelers add undrafted rookies

The Steelers added 15 undrafted rookie free agents Tuesday, including talented running back John Clay of Wisconsin.

Those who followed this blog in the weeks leading up to the draft will also recognize some other names on the list as players the team brought in for visits.

Below is the list of players added Tuesday in addition to Clay.

Vaughn Charlton, TE, Temple
Terrence McCrae, WR, Ohio
Armand Robinson, WR, Miami
Adam Mims, WR, Furman
Weslye Saunders, TE, South Carolina
Colin Miller, C, Central Michigan
Trevis Turner, OT, Abilene Christian
Brent Greenwood, S, Iowa
Niles Brinkley, CB, Wisconsin
Eric Clanton, LB, Citadel
Mario Harvey, LB, Marshall
Miguel Chavis, DE, Clemson
Anthony Gray, DT, Southern Miss
Eric Greenwood, WR, Idaho

List of free agents

Thanks to the AP for this info:


Franchise Players
Players with three or more accrued seasons have been designated as franchise players. The old club has a right of first refusal to the players listed below and compensation of two No. 1 draft choices:
CLEVELAND — Phil Dawson, K
KANSAS CITY — Tamba Hali, LB
NEW ENGLAND — Logan Mankins, G
SAN DIEGO — Vincent Jackson, WR
In order to submit an offer sheet, a new club must have available the required choices, defined as its own or better choices in the first round in the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts. Offer sheets may be submitted to an old club until 4 p.m. EDT on the Tuesday following the 10th regular season weekend.
———
Right of First Refusal
Players with four or more accrued seasons who negotiated rights of first refusal with their old clubs:
KANSAS CITY — Kevin Curtis, WR
———
Restricted Free Agents
Restricted free agents who received qualifying offers from their old clubs and are subject to the first refusal/compensation system of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The old club has a right of first refusal to all players listed. Compensation (round) is listed on right. ROFR-right of first refusal (if the old club simply has a right of first refusal but is not entitled to any compensation):
ARIZONA — Early Doucet, WR, 3rd; Tim Hightower, RB, 2nd; Brandon Keith, OT, 2nd
ATLANTA — Brent Grimes, DB, 1st; Eric Weems, WR, 2nd
BALTIMORE — Oniel Cousins, T, 3rd; Tavares Gooden, LB, 3rd; Jameel McClain, LB, 2nd; Haruki Nakamura, DB, 6th; Jalen Parmele, RB, 6th; Marcus Smith, WR, 4th; Kelly Talavou, NT, ROFR; Tom Zbikowski, DB, 3rd
BUFFALO — Scott Chandler, TE, 4th
CAROLINA — David Clowney, WR, 5th; J.J. Jansen, LS, ROFR; Jordan Senn, LB, ROFR
CHICAGO — Caleb Hanie, QB, ROFR
CINCINNATI — Kyle Cook, C, 2nd; Nate Livings, G, ROFR; Jordan Palmer, QB, 6th; Dennis Roland, T, ROFR
CLEVELAND — Evan Moore, TE, 2nd
DALLAS — Alan Ball, DB, 7th
DENVER — Matt Prater, K, 2nd; Wesley Woodyard, LB, 2nd
DETROIT — Cliff Avril, DE, 1st; Jerome Felton, RB, 5th; Andre Fluellen, DT, 3rd
HOUSTON — Mike Brisiel, G, 2nd
INDIANAPOLIS — Eric Foster, DE, 2nd
KANSAS CITY — Brandon Carr, DB, 1st; Mike Cox, RB, ROFR; Wallace Gilberry, DE, 2nd; Barry Richardson, T, 2nd
MIAMI — Nate Garner, T, 2nd
MINNESOTA — Husain Abdullah, DB, 2nd; Erin Henderson, LB, ROFR
NEW ENGLAND — BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, 2nd
NEW ORLEANS — Carl Nicks, G, 1st
N.Y. JETS — Robert Turner, C, ROFR
OAKLAND — Michael Bush, RB, 1st
PITTSBURGH — Dennis Dixon, QB, 5th; Tony Hills, T, 4th
ST. LOUIS — Chris Chamberlain, LB, 7th; Renardo Foster, T, ROFR; John Greco, G, 3rd; David Vobora, LB, 7th
SAN DIEGO — Antwan Applewhite, LB, 2nd; Mike Tolbert, RB, 2nd
SEATTLE — Tyler Polumbus, T, ROFR
TAMPA BAY — Connor Barth, K, 2nd; James Lee, T, 2nd; Corey Lynch, DB, 6th; Elbert Mack, DB, ROFR; Frank Okam, NT, 5th; Micheal Spurlock, WR, ROFR
TENNESSEE — Patrick Bailey, LB, ROFR; Mike Otto, T, 7th; Tim Shaw, LB, 5th

In order to submit an offer sheet, a new club must have available the required choice, defined as its own or better choice in the applicable rounds, in the 2012 NFL draft. Offer sheets may be submitted to an old club until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Aug. 20.
———
Unrestricted Free Agents (Four or more seasons)
Players in this category may be signed by any club in the league until 4 p.m. EDT on Sept. 3 with no rights of any character held by the old club:
ARIZONA — Hamza Abdullah, DB; D’Anthony Batiste, OT; Alan Branch, DT; Steve Breaston, WR; Ben Claxton, C; Alan Faneca, G; Ben Graham, P; Deuce Lutui, G; Trumaine McBride, DB; Ben Patrick, TE; Bryan Robinson, NT; Lyle Sendlein, C; Stephen Spach, TE; Matt Ware, DB; Gabe Watson, NT; Jason Wright, RB.
ATLANTA — Justin Blalock, G; Matt Bryant, K; Tyson Clabo, OT; Harvey Dahl, G; Brian Finneran, WR; Thomas Johnson, NT; Michael Koenen, P; Stephen Nicholas, LB; Jerious Norwood, RB; Mike Peterson, LB; Jason Snelling, RB; Brian Williams, DB.
BALTIMORE — Marc Bulger, QB; Prescott Burgess, LB; Chris Carr, DB; Chris Chester, G; Jared Gaither, OT; Kevin Houser, LS; T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR; Dawan Landry, DB; Le’Ron McClain, RB; Tony Moll, OT; Donte’ Stallworth, WR; Fabian Washington, DB; Josh Wilson, DB; Marshal Yanda, G.
BUFFALO — Akin Ayodele, LB; Keith Ellison, LB; Drayton Florence, DB; John McCargo, DE; Paul Posluszny, LB; Donte Whitner, DB; Ashton Youboty, DB.
CAROLINA — Gerald Alexander, DB; James Anderson, LB; Abdul Hodge, LB; Marcus Hudson, DB; Charles Johnson, DE; Jeff King, TE; Derek Landri, DT; Rhys Lloyd, K; Richard Marshall, DB; Matt Moore, QB; Chris Morris, C; Rob Petitti, OT; Dante Rosario, TE; Brian St. Pierre, QB; DeAngelo Williams, RB; Jamar Williams, LB; C.J. Wilson, DB.
CHICAGO — Anthony Adams, NT; Josh Bullocks, DB; Desmond Clark, TE; Todd Collins, QB; Rashied Davis, WR; Corey Graham, DB; Brian Iwuh, LB; Olin Kreutz, C; Danieal Manning, DB Abilene; Brad Maynard, P; Nick Roach, LB; Pisa Tinoisamoa, LB; Rod Wilson, LB; Garrett Wolfe, RB.
CINCINNATI — Cedric Benson, RB; Kirk Chambers, OT; Jonathan Fanene, DE; Brandon Johnson, LB; Dhani Jones, LB; Johnathan Joseph, DB; Reggie Kelly, TE; Brian Leonard, RB; Evan Mathis, G; Chinedum Ndukwe, DB; Terrell Owens, WR; Keiwan Ratliff, DB; Roy Williams, DB; Gibril Wilson, DB.
CLEVELAND — Mike Bell, RB; Abram Elam, DB; Greg Estandia, TE; Jayme Mitchell, DE; Sabby Piscitelli, DB; Derreck Robinson, DE; Matt Roth, LB; Robaire Smith, DE; Nick Sorensen, DB; Chansi Stuckey, WR; Jason Trusnik, LB; Lawrence Vickers, RB; Floyd Womack, G; Eric Wright, DB; Billy Yates, G.
DALLAS — Alex Barron, OT; Stephen Bowen, DE; Doug Free, OT; Jason Hatcher, DE; Sam Hurd, WR; Kyle Kosier, G; Gerald Sensabaugh, DB; Marcus Spears, DE; Leon Williams, LB.
DENVER — Kyle Eckel, RB; Ronald Fields, NT; Ryan Harris, OT; Laurence Maroney, RB; Marcus Thomas, DE.
DETROIT — C.C. Brown, DB; Bobby Carpenter, LB; Vinny Ciurciu, LB; Brian Clark, WR; Jared DeVries, DE; Dylan Gandy, C; Tye Hill, DB; Chris Houston, DB; Landon Johnson, LB; Turk McBride, DE; Brandon McDonald, DB; Dave Rayner, K; Drew Stanton, QB; John Wendling, DB.
GREEN BAY — Atari Bigby, DB; Daryn Colledge, G; Mason Crosby, K; Korey Hall, RB; Brandon Jackson, RB; Cullen Jenkins, DE; James Jones, WR; John Kuhn, RB; Anthony Smith, DB; Jason Spitz, C; Matt Wilhelm, LB.
HOUSTON — Mark Anderson, DE; Kevin Bentley, LB; Tim Bulman, DE; Rashad Butler, OT; Zach Diles, LB; Jarvis Green, DE; Jacoby Jones, WR Lane Vonta Leach, RB; Matt Leinart, QB; Damione Lewis, DT; Karl Paymah, DB; Bernard Pollard, DB; Kasey Studdard, G; Matt Turk, P.
INDIANAPOLIS — Joseph Addai, RB; Melvin Bullitt, DB; Keyunta Dawson, DE; Aaron Francisco, DB; Tyjuan Hagler, LB; Ken Hamlin, DB; Antonio Johnson, DT; Charlie Johnson, OT; Daniel Muir, DT; Dominic Rhodes, RB; Clint Session, LB; Adam Vinatieri, K.
JACKSONVILLE — Todd Bouman, QB; Sean Considine, DB; Justin Durant, LB; Trent Edwards, QB; Kirk Morrison, LB; Adam Podlesh, P; Mike Sims-Walker, WR.
KANSAS CITY — Charlie Anderson, LB; Jackie Battle, RB; Tim Castille, RB; Terrance Copper, WR; Brodie Croyle, QB; Travis Daniels, DB; Ron Edwards, NT; Corey Mays, LB; Jon McGraw, DB; Rudy Niswanger, C; Ryan O’Callaghan, OT; Leonard Pope, TE; Shaun Smith, DE; Mike Vrabel, LB; Casey Wiegmann, C.
MIAMI — Ronnie Brown, RB; Patrick Cobbs, RB; Tony McDaniel, DE; Pat McQuistan, OT; Quentin Moses, LB; Chad Pennington, QB; Cory Procter, G; Tyler Thigpen, QB; Ricky Williams, RB.
MINNESOTA — Hank Baskett, WR; Ryan Cook, G; Ray Edwards, DE; Fred Evans, NT; Brett Favre, QB; Eric Frampton, DB; Tarvaris Jackson, QB; Ben Leber, LB; Greg Lewis, WR; Ryan Longwell, K; Patrick Ramsey, QB; Sidney Rice, WR; Lito Sheppard, DB; Naufahu Tahi, RB; Frank Walker, DB; Pat Williams, NT.
NEW ENGLAND — Kevin Faulk, RB; Shayne Graham, K; Matt Light, OT; Brandon McGowan, DB; Sammy Morris, RB; Quinn Ojinnaka, G; Jarrad Page, DB; Fred Taylor, RB; Gerard Warren, DE; Tracy White, LB.
NEW ORLEANS — Remi Ayodele, NT; Ladell Betts, RB; Jermon Bushrod, OT; Jeff Charleston, DE; Danny Clark, LB; Heath Evans, RB; Matt Giordano, DB; Jonathan Goodwin, C; Tony Hargrove, DT; Roman Harper, DB; Tory Humphrey, TE; Julius Jones, RB; Kawika Mitchell, LB; Marvin Mitchell, LB; Lance Moore, WR; Pierson Prioleau, DB; Chris Reis, DB; Courtney Roby, WR; Scott Shanle, LB; Darren Sharper, DB; Zach Strief, OT; David Thomas, TE; Leigh Torrence, DB; Jimmy Wilkerson, NT; DeShawn Wynn, RB; Usama Young, DB.
N.Y. GIANTS — Chase Blackburn, LB; Kevin Boothe, G; Kevin Boss, TE; Ahmad Bradshaw, RB; Keith Bulluck, LB; Michael Clayton, WR; Barry Cofield, DT; Deon Grant, DB; Derek Hagan, WR; Michael Johnson, DB; Mathias Kiwanuka, DE; Steve Smith, WR; Jim Sorgi, QB; Dave Tollefson, DE; Gerris Wilkinson, LB.
N.Y. JETS — Kellen Clemens, QB; Drew Coleman, DB; Antonio Cromartie, DB; Braylon Edwards, WR; Shaun Ellis, DE; Nick Folk, K; Santonio Holmes, WR; Wayne Hunter, OT; James Ihedigbo, DB; Lance Laury, LB; Brodney Pool, DB; Trevor Pryce, DE; Tony Richardson, RB; Brad Smith, WR; Eric Smith, DB; Steve Weatherford, P.
OAKLAND — Nnamdi Asomugha, DB; Khalif Barnes, OT; Ricky Brown, LB; Jon Condo, LS; Charlie Frye, QB; Robert Gallery, G; Bruce Gradkowski, QB; Mario Henderson, OT; Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR; Howard Thomas, LB; Michael Huff, DB; Zach Miller, TE; Jarvis Moss, LB; J.T. O’Sullivan, QB; Samson Satele, C; Langston Walker, OT; Sam Williams, LB.
PHILADELPHIA — David Akers, K; Stewart Bradley, LB; Nick Cole, G; Omar Gaither, LB; Antoine Harris, DB; Jerome Harrison, RB; Ellis Hobbs, DB; Max Jean-Gilles, G; Akeem Jordan, LB; Bobby McCray, DE; Quintin Mikell, DB; Dimitri Patterson, DB; Saverio Rocca, P; Ernie Sims, LB; Reggie Wells, G.
PITTSBURGH — Willie Colon, OT; Nick Eason, DE; Trai Essex, G; Keyaron Fox, LB; William Gay, DB; Chris Hoke, NT; Anthony Madison, DB; Mewelde Moore, RB; Jonathan Scott, OT; Daniel Sepulveda, P; Matt Spaeth, TE; Shaun Suisham, K; Ivan Taylor, DB; Greg Warren, LS.
ST. LOUIS — Mark Clayton, WR; Kevin Dockery, DB; Daniel Fells, TE; Gary Gibson, DT; Adam Goldberg, G; Chris Hovan, DT; Darcy Johnson, TE; Michael Lewis, DB; Laurent Robinson, WR; Clifton Ryan, DT; Derek Schouman, TE.
SAN DIEGO — Antwan Barnes, DE; Kevin Burnett, LB; Tyrone Carter, DB; Jacques Cesaire, DE; Jeromey Clary, OT; Stephen Cooper, LB; James Dearth, LS; Malcom Floyd, WR; Dante Hughes, DB; Travis Johnson, DE; Randy McMichael, TE; Brandon Moore, LB; Scott Mruczkowski, C; Legedu Naanee, WR; Ryan Neill, LS; Paul Oliver, DB; Brandon Siler, LB; Darren Sproles, RB; Billy Volek, QB; Kelley Washington, WR; Pat Watkins, DB; Eric Weddle, DB.
SAN FRANCISCO — David Baas, C; Demetric Evans, DE; Aubrayo Franklin, NT; Dashon Goldson, DB; William James, DB; Travis LaBoy, LB; Manny Lawson, LB; Ray McDonald, DE; Jeff Reed, K; Barry Sims, OT; Alex Smith, QB; Troy Smith, QB; Takeo Spikes, LB; Brian Westbrook, RB; Tony Wragge, C.
SEATTLE — Jordan Babineaux, DB; Raheem Brock, DE; Amon Gordon, DT; Matt Hasselbeck, QB; Will Herring, LB; LeRoy Hill, LB; Kelly Jennings, DB; Sean Locklear, OT; J.P. Losman, QB; Olindo Mare, K; Ruvell Martin, WR; Matt McCoy, LB; Brandon Mebane, DT; Lawyer Milloy, DB; Chester Pitts, OT; Jay Richardson, DE; Michael Robinson, RB; Junior Siavii, DT; Chris Spencer, C; Brandon Stokley, WR; Craig Terrill, DT; Ray Willis, OT.
TAMPA BAY — Quincy Black, LB; Tim Crowder, DE; John Gilmore, TE; Adam Hayward, LB; Davin Joseph, G; Niko Koutouvides, LB; Barrett Ruud, LB; Maurice Stovall, WR; Jeremy Trueblood, OT; Stylez G White, DE; Carnell Williams, RB.
TENNESSEE — Jason Babin, DE; Dave Ball, DE; Kerry Collins, QB; Marques Douglas, DT; Jacob Ford, DE; Ahmard Hall, RB; Leroy Harris, G; Roderick Hood, DB; Randy Moss, WR; Donnie Nickey, DB; Bo Scaife, TE; Chris Simms, QB; David Thornton, LB; Stephen Tulloch, LB; Jamie Winborn, LB.
WASHINGTON — H.B. Blades, LB; Jammal Brown, OT; Phillip Buchanon, DB; Reed Doughty, DB; Mike Furrey, WR; Kedric Golston, DE; Rex Grossman, QB; Stephon Heyer, OT; Rocky McIntosh, LB; Santana Moss, WR; Carlos Rogers, DB; Chris Wilson, LB.
———
Unrestricted Free Agents (fewer than four seasons)
Players who received no qualifying offer or no minimum tender from their old club. The players in this category may be signed immediately with no rights of any character held by the old club. There is no signing deadline applicable to these players:
ARIZONA — Michael Adams, DB; Nehemiah Broughton, RB; Keilen Dykes, DT; Kenny Iwebema, DE; Reagan Maui’a, RB.
BALTIMORE — Daniel Sanders, C.
BUFFALO — Brian Brohm, QB; Quinton Ganther, RB; Jonathan Stupar, TE.
CHICAGO — Devin Aromashodu, WR.
CINCINNATI — Marvin White, DB.
CLEVELAND — Titus Adams, DE; Blake Costanzo, LB.
DALLAS — Chris Greisen, QB.
DETROIT — Jake Nordin, TE; Kevin Smith, RB.
GREEN BAY — Josh Bell, DB.
INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Hart, RB; Mike Richardson, DB; Gijon Robinson, TE; Tom Santi, TE; Jamie Silva, DB.
JACKSONVILLE — Bryan Smith, DE.
KANSAS CITY — Maurice Leggett, DB.
MIAMI — Joey Haynos, TE.
MINNESOTA — Albert Young, RB.
NEW ORLEANS — Jo-Lonn Dunbar, LB; Anthony Waters, LB.
N.Y. GIANTS — Courtney Brown, DB.
PITTSBURGH — Tuff Harris, DB.
ST. LOUIS — Quincy Butler, DB; Kenneth Darby, RB; Curtis Johnson, LB.
SAN DIEGO — Darry Beckwith, LB; Billy Latsko, RB.
SAN FRANCISCO — Chris Patrick, OT.
TAMPA BAY — Kareem Huggins, RB.
TENNESSEE — Colin Allred, LB.

When it's over, it's over

Now that the NFL lockout is over, it appears that a free agent frenzy, the type of which has never been seen before, could begin as early as midnight tonight.

But the league's GMs, money men and scouts are going to be working overtime this week.

Not only will teams be signing free agents - both their own and others - they will also have to sign their draft picks and undrafted rookies in the coming week before training camps open as early as Saturday. And, for teams over the cap like the Steelers, there will also be some contract extension talks with key players in addition to cuts.

In other words, they will be jamming six months worth of work into six days.

The interesting thing will be how many rookie holdouts we have this season.

With no offseason workouts and training camps shortened by a few days in some cases, any rookie holdouts will be dooming themselves to a lost season.

Measuring Roethlisberger vs. Manning

Kerry Byrne of the Colfhardfootballfacts.com lays out an intriguing argument measuring Ben Roethlisberger vs. Peyton Manning on Si.com.

It comes on the heels of teammate James Harrison calling Roethlisberger out for not being Manning.

But the statistics aren't all that far off when looked at closely - particularly over the past few years.

And more importantly, Roethlisberger has an edge in the biggest stat over Manning - Super Bowl wins, 2-1.

Check it out at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/kerry_byrne/07/20/peyton-manning-ben-roethlisberger/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t13_a2

Open mouth, insert foot

Back when he first came into the league as an undrafted rookie, I was with some other reporters when we happened upon a Steelers assistant coach in a local watering hole at training camp in Latrobe.

We had all been watching this unknown kid out of Kent tearing up blocker after blocker and asked the coach about young James Harrison.

The coach basically said that the kid wasn't going to make it because he didn't want to listen to anyone – coaches, teammates, you name it.

At first, the coach seemed right. Harrison bounced around the league a little bit before finally landing with the Steelers on a full-time basis. It took him some more time before he finally "got it" and began playing within the system, doing what was asked of him.

Was he always a talent? Sure. That much was obvious. But he didn't become a star until he finally realized that football was a team game.

Now, after several years as a star player, we're seeing a Harrison who is seemingly trying to live up to his "bad boy" image.

His statements in a recently released magazine piece seem to reinforce that.

Unfortunately, I've seen this show before. And it was from a player at the same exact position as Harrison.

Back in the '90s, Steelers linebacker Greg Lloyd went from being a team leader and respected locker room presence to a guy who started believing all the hype surrounding himself.

He wasn't afraid to offend anyone, including his own teammates, particularly those on the offensive side of the ball.

Did it adversely affect the Steelers in the locker room? Nope. The offensive guys just shook their heads and wrote it off as Lloyd being Lloyd.

They all have a job to do. When you have 53 men in a locker room, there's a good chance that some of them aren't going to be best buddies. But the organization has to rely on the fact that they are all professionals and that when they get on the field, everyone is going to do their job.

They don't have to like each other. They don't even have to fully respect each other. But everyone has to do their job to the best of their abilities.

Harrison's comments about quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his two interceptions in the Super Bowl are something that probably should have been best left unsaid. But at the end of the day, they'll have no bearing on the Steelers moving forward.

What does Ward's DUI mean?

News that Hines Ward was picked up for DUI in Georgia Saturday morning shocked some Steelers fans.

In fact, Pro Football Talk actually went as far as to say that Ward's reputation would take a hit.

The question is, why?

While I don't condone driving under the influence, there's likely not one person who is reading this post who has not driven after having one too many.

Again, I'm not condoning Ward's alleged actions. He's 35 years old and should know better. And he's rich enough that he could have hired a driver or called a taxi - no matter how far he had to go.

Ward made an error in judgment. And judging from the number of DUI arrests that appear in the Observer-Reporter on a weekly basis, he's not alone in that error.

And for those of you wondering if the Steelers or NFL will have some kind of penalty for Ward, remember that this is his first offense. They won't be happy about it, but he won't be facing a suspension or anything like that.

Again with the Barber talk?

Every two or three weeks, the agent for Tiki Barber talks to a reporter and expresses an interest for his client to return to the NFL.

And every time, the agent drops the Steelers - along with Tampa Bay - as the team his client would like to wind up with.

And every time I am again forced to reiterate that there is very little chance Barber winds up in Pittsburgh.

Just because Barber would like to play for the Steelers and his agent keeps saying that two teams have shown interest in the former Pro Bowl running back, doesn't mean the Steelers have shown interest in Barber.

In fact, I highly doubt any team has shown interest in Barber. At this point, he's still property of the New York Giants until they release him from their retired list.

The Steelers just don't work that way, particularly with somebody who is property of a team with which the Steelers have very close ties.