Beer We Go Steelers

The Steelers have brought back Max Starks, who helped stabilize the O-Line last year in a pinch. He came off the couch after week four to solidify the Steelers and he was given the BWG Game Beer! He injured his knee last season in the Denver debacle and got a clean bill of health last week.

Starks and rookie Mike Adams, their second-round draft choice, will contend for the starting job at left tackle in training camp. Either way Starks figures to get playing time and having him Gilbert and Adams in the mix again strengthens the O-line.

With his signing the Steelers released Jonathon Scott. Scott opened last season as the starting LT and had very little success and was back to the bench by week 5. He started in 14 of the 28 games he played for the Steelers, including three playoff games over the last two seasons.

Today marks one month until the opening of Training camp at St. Vincents, here are your quick hits for the month:

-Mewelde Moore goes to the Colts: I am surprised more Steelers haven’t headed there, Mewelde was an excellent addition and really the first “Tomlin guy”. He was solid asset and did a great job for the Steelers. In the NFL it is “next man up” and the Steelers have Baron Batch who sat out last year and they have 5th rounder Chris Rainey.

-Chris Rainey is of course very interesting, he is so interesting that he could possibly be replacing the Dos Equis guy as the “most interesting man in the world”. I have never seen a 5th round pick get this much hype. Not sure how he is going to play out but one thing is certain, he is FAST!

-The Offensive line is rounding into shape. The interior looks to be its strongest in years with Pouncey being joined by Willie Colon and 1st rounder David DeCastro. The tackle spots are up for grabs and it looks like Marcus Gilbert on the blind side and 2nd rounder Mike Adams on the right. Anything at this point will be an improvement from last season.

-Steelers release Troy Smith. I have to be honest, not sure why, but this bothered me. I don’t understand why he didn’t even make it to camp. The Steelers need to have some young blood behind Big Ben and I thought Smith was worth a look. He reminded me a little of Steeler nemesis Jeff Blake, kind of an underutilized asset that might do some damage in a pinch. The Steelers are going with Charlie Batch who struggled in limited duty last year and Byron Leftwich, who has been out for two seasons, Jerod Johnson will make a bid for the practice squad.

-The first “Mr. Irrelevant” was a Pittsburgh Steeler! The Tag has been around since 1976 and it was Kelvin Kirk (487 overall). Never knew that, but thought it was a fun fact. Kirk never saw the field with the Steelers and there is next to no information on him.

-My awesome Girlfriend KGB got me a Steelers Trivia Book for Father’s day. She did it of course to be sweet, however I have come to realize, I honestly don’t know anything about the Steelers. Seriously, I have been getting crushed with the book. I am going to post some questions on line very soon so you too can feel my pain.

-Keep a good thought for former Steeler Clark Haggans. It is easy to dump on people when they make a mistake which Haggans did. He is set to do JAIL TIME, for a crime that so many people would be guilty of if caught. I certainly am not excusing him, there is nothing to justify dangerous and reckless behaviour, it was stupid and his lame excuse, made it worse, not better but have a little charity for the guy.

-Mail Call is well over 10K I try and answer everything sent but at this point it is just brutal. I will continue to do my best.

-Enjoy the next few weeks off as we are about to engage on the 2012 season!

On behalf of BWG Steeeler nation and Captain Tailgate, we wanted to wish our Founder and President Tom Janicki a very Happy Birthday!

Oh mama…

Warren Sapp apparently has some type of issue with the Steelers, last year they were “Old and Slow”. So bad that they had the number one defense in the entire NFL and won 12 games. Despite obviously being a moron, he still gets paid to speak on television, although his accountant and creditors might disagree. About the money, not about being a moron…that seems pretty obvious.

Now he went after our beloved Silverback and LaMarr. See, back in the good old days, when Warren Sapp played in the NFL players looked out for each other. Warren looked out for Green Bay Packer Tackle Chad Clifton as he hit him with a blind side block and put him out for weeks. I don’t fault Sapp for the hit. But this nonsense, fairy tale he talks about is a joke.

LaMarr and Silverback play the game, the way it should be played. HARD AND PHYSICAL!  So Warren Sapp can go dance his fat ass to the poor house as far as I am concerned. This is all I am going to write about this as Sapp doesn’t deserve anymore thought than this.

Sorry it has been awhile, after a great week of OTAs, Here are a couple of quick hits:

-The Steelers moved Willie Colon to LG. This was a great move for Big Willie and stabilizes a transient position. I like Legursky but this protects him and keeps him as a reliable backup. Hopefully, this move will solidify the line and keep Colon off the IR.

-Steelers signed Cornerback Andre Freeman from Slippery Rock, his combine was mediocre and he didn’t get drafted, but he might be a nice project player.

-Unfortunately, that signing spells the end of Trevis Turner, Offensive Tackle. The writing was on the wall for this with the way draft went.  He is a great kid with great potential!

-Does anyone actually believe that Big Ben is feuding with Todd Haley? It is a different system but long overdue, Ben is learning it!  

2012 Draft Class Pittsburgh Steelers:

This has the potential to be one of the most well rounded drafts in Steelers history. The Steelers filled several key needs and look like they reloaded in some key spots.

1             David DeCastro, G: The Steelers biggest need was at guard and they drafted the best one! DeCastro will start probably on the left side and will make an immediate impact. He is an elite athlete who is technically proficient at pass blocking and an absolute mauler on run blocking!

2             Mike Adams, OT: Not projected to start year one, but will absolutely have an impact at some point. He is the epitome of what a starting tackle should look like at 6’7” and 323lbs. He graded out as a First Rounder but discipline problems caused his fall. He could be the steal of the 2012 Draft.

3             Sean Spence, LB:  Superior on field intelligence, good quickness, combined with violent hitting equals exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for at linebacker. He absolutely runs through his opposition. This is the typical Steelers pick that they get right. I still think there is a good chance he will play outside after a two year apprenticeship with Woodley and Silverback. PPG believes he will move inside, I just don’t see it.

4             Alameda Ta’amu, DT: The heir apparent to Casey Hampton as the Steelers moved up to get him. Displays great anchor-ability and is extremely difficult to move. He will be a run plugging nose for the Steelers for years to come. Will do well in a one year backup role and if he materializes the Steelers will have the best 3-4 front in the NFL.

5             Chris Rainey, RB: He is an absolute blur in the open field and a natural playmaker. Rainey will be a force on special teams. He possesses great hands and will be fun to watch. At 5’8” and 178lbs might be difficult to be more than a special teams/niche player.

7             Toney Clemons, WR: A good vertical threat with great size and speed. Almost seemed too good to be true this late in the draft at his height with a 4.43 forty and a great vertical. He didn’t have much production in college but has all the physical attributes.  There is great potential to make an already loaded receiving corps. This could be one of those late round gems that the Steelers are looking for.

7             David Paulson, TE: Was drafted I believe as the best guy on the board. Paulson is an excellent receiver but not much of a blocker. With the signing of Leonard Pope, he seems like a long shot to make the team. Classic hard worker!

7             Terrence Frederick, CB: Good physical tools and has nice agility. He is good in zone coverage and looks like a Nickelback. Probably has the best chance of making the team of all the 7^th Round picks.

7             Kelvin Beachum, OG: I studied every guard in three different draft guides, I haven’t seen the film on this guy and he seems kind of small to play for the Steelers. He is a good athlete and tremendous heart combined with great intangibles which will make him a tough contender for a backup role in camp.

The Steelers continued the theme on Friday night of drafting Offensive Line help in grabbing Tackle Mike Adams of Ohio State. He has the size the ability and technique to make an immediate impact. He graded out as a possible first round pick so this could be an absolute steal in the draft.

The bad news is he didn’t get drafted in the first round because of some discipline concerns regarding a free tattoo and also, this is the part that makes everyone nervous, getting arrested with drug paraphernalia. The charges were dropped, but the damage was done. Rumor and this is just a rumor, he showed up high at the Combine which again is kind of foreboding. 

The story that I think makes this pick a little easier to swallow is that Adams drove to the Steelers complex when he heard he was off the draft board. He went like a man and explained and apologized for his immaturity. That shows character and hopefully he makes good!

If he does this certainly addresses the Offensive Line issues and the Steelers are in good shape!

BWG likes the pick and the Captain and I were in agreement. He had to text me the pick as I was at Mercy High School’s play. (The things we do for family.)

The third round pick is a Steelers specialty; Linebacker. They drafted Sean Spence from “The U”.  I am not totally sold on this pick as he is projected outside and we needed inside help. But he has good speed and he is a tackling machine. The knock on him is if he plays strong side he will get smothered by the Tight End and the Tackle. What the Steelers have going for them is that if you don’t put the Tight End on Woodley or Silverback then your team is going to be the one with problems! What I think this pick means is that Worilds is moving inside and Spence is the development project. 

It is hard to go against the Steelers when it comes to Linebackers and this seems like a great value pick!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

Captain Tailgate texted me earlier in the night that it was going to break our way and when the Chiefs passed I knew he would fall, The Steelers drafted the best guard in the draft in David DeCastro!

DeCastro is 6’5″ and 312 pounds of anchor-ability. This is what we have been waiting for! He doesn’t get beat in pass blocking and he is an absolute monster run blocker. DeCastro is excellent at trapping and pulling out. He gets to the second level and absolutely mauls linebackers! He has a great work ethic and will fit in great with the Steelers!

Stanford was DeCastro’s choice for college because of it’s academic standards!

LOVE THIS PICK! PPG is calling him Faneca II.

The evil Patriots took Dont’a Hightower next and believe me that hurt to see but I really believe the Steelers got this one right!

BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!

BWG Nation is anxiously waiting to see who will be the 2012 First round pick!

The Top Three Needs of the Steelers:

1. Offensive Line: Is there anything more important than this? Most of the media is touting that the Steelers will grab a Middle Linebacker to replace James Farrior. That makes no sense whatsoever, as the Steelers are stacked at linebacker. The key has to be protecting Ben and unless they want him looking through his ear hole again this season they need to upgrade the interior line. The Steelers played 9 different combinations of linemen in 16 games last season. Kevin Colbert will stick to the draft board but the Steelers absolutely need to grab a Guard in the first two rounds and need to grab a big development guy in the later rounds for depth.  

2. Defensive Tackle: Big Snack is in the twilight of his great career and his top backup, the venerable Chris Hoke, has retired. The bench is thin behind them now. Steve McClendon is athletic but too small to play full time in such a demanding position. The Steelers will target Hampton’s replacement somewhere in the middle rounds where they can afford a project guy who matches the physical needs of the position. The 3-4 doesn’t work without a huge NT.

3. Defensive Back: The Steelers rid themselves of Bryan McFadden, who lost his starting spot, and they lost the talented, but erratic, William Gay in free agency. What was painfully obvious during the playoffs is that the Steelers need some help at Cornerback. Ike Taylor had a great season then played his worst game as a Steeler at the worst possible time. Keenan Lewis is about to have his breakout season and should continue to help the secondary. As for safeties; Troy Polamalu is Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark had a huge year, probably his best as a Steeler.  Look for the Steelers to grab someone who is a developmental project in the middle rounds at any of the spots.

The Steelers have been excellent in the first round, but struggled after that.  Out of 41 picks in the last five years the Steelers have drafted 9 starters and drafted 9 players that are no longer in football. The Steelers need to have a big draft all three days to stay as a perennial contenders.

“We have never used those jerseys since the 1934 season…” – Art Rooney II

Jeez I wonder why? 🙂 I seriously thought this was a joke when someone sent this to me.

Ah well, we have a great team and great ownership they are allowed a “Mulligan” once in awhile!

I figured it was going to be the “Golden Triangle” jerseys. Not this bumble bee suck fest!

(Photo Courtesy of the PPG)