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With only a week and change before camp opens for the Steelers and even less time for others, I figured it was about time to break out the old keyboard again and throw down some quick thoughts. Whether or not they make sense or prove to be correct, only time will tell. OK, let’s get to it.

A great Steelers off season for next year’s draft
I’ve been reading and listening to many Steelers fans out there upset because the Steelers haven’t made much of a splash in the off season free agent market. Don’t fret folks, there’s a method to this madness. A little thought of benefit of losing high priced free agents without adding others in their place is that the Steelers will be receiving compensatory selections in next year’s draft to make up the difference. For those unaware of what compensatory picks are, they are picks granted to a team that has a net loss of free agents signed. Those picks are then assigned the following year and are allocated in accordance with the quality of the players lost. The exact formula for this is unknown to most humans but suffice to say, the higher the player was originally selected and the amount that he gets paid are big parts of this. Needless to say, the Steelers should hit pay dirt in the next draft that, by most accounts, should be one of the better drafts to come along in years. A little free agent math would go something like this. The Steelers lost Plaxico Burress (high first rounder), Kendrell Bell (second rounder), Keydrick Vincent (UFA but compensated well by Baltimore), Oliver Ross (FA but also compensated well by Arizona) and Kendrick Clancy (third rounder). They only signed one player and he, Cedric Wilson, was a former seventh rounder signed to a modest deal. What that should leave the Steelers is a net gain next year of 3-4 picks with at least one of them (possibly two) being a third round pick. The others will end up in the lower rounds but even they will have use. The Steelers look to have done very well on the second day of the draft this past year. So, by not wasting all kinds of cap room on over the hill, injury questionable players, they can use it to re-sign players like Hines Ward. The Steelers front office has also provided a nice boost for the future by adding to their upcoming draft. A darn good off-season if you ask me. Oh, by the way, for those that may not remember, that Hines Ward fellow was once drafted using a compensatory pick.

Motorcycle hysteria
I had to bring this up real quick because I’m growing tired of everybody trying to tell both Ben Roethlisberger and Tommy Maddox to mothball their motorcycles because of the stupid mistake by another player. Of course I’m talking about Kellen Winslow II and his newfound love of stunt riding. Well, as you may have heard, he will miss the upcoming season with a torn up knee because the bike he was riding took a parking lot curb a bit too fast throwing him over (and possibly through) his handlebars. If you haven’t guessed, there is a difference between Ben and Tommy’s situation and Winslow’s (has anybody else noticed that the word “slow” is built right into his name? Not the brightest bulb on the tree if you ask me). Ben and Tommy ride Harley’s for transportation. There are no wheelies in parking lots in their future. Ridden correctly, they can be very safe, or at least as safe as anything else you can do during the day. Winslow on the other hand, was busy trying out stunts he saw on a video and has very little experience riding his little crotch rocket-type of bike. That’s akin to me watching Speed Racer and then trying to accomplish the same kind of things in my truck. Yeah, not very bright. So, I guess all I’m saying is that we should all cut Ben and Tommy a little slack on this one. That said, I sure wish Ben (not sure if Tommy does or doesn’t) would find a helmet he liked and wear it proudly.

Mini-camp scouting
This one’s a quickie. I wish those folks that do would stop judging how well a draft went based on their performance in mini-camps and off-season workouts. Running around in shorts and a helmet is not a real good indicator of how well these guys will perform with the pads on. Just like freshman orientation is not a good indicator of how well you’re going to do in school. The time for judgment will come soon enough.

The right side of the line
I’ve been hearing way too much about how the Steelers are going to struggle because they lost the right side of the offensive line that paved the way for them to lead the league in rushing. A lot of folks not close to the Steelers situation have been bringing up this fact to discount the Steelers’ chances this year. Sadly, it must take too much effort to take a look at the players that will be replacing them. First off, Kendall Simmons will be back starting after a year off to reclaim his starting position. Remember, he was never beat out for his spot by Vincent, far from it. His presence will be a big step up in quality, not a downgrade. At right tackle, Max Starks will take over for Oliver Ross and fulfill the plan the Steelers had in drafting him in the first place. It’s no secret that Ross has always been the weak link of the Steelers line and they have replaced him on numerous occasions. Simmons took his right guard position in his rookie season and even Todd Fordham was able to unseat him at RT before succumbing to injury. So, I would have to consider the move of Starks to the starting lineup to be more of a positive than a negative as well. So, as I see it, the best offensive line in football last year just got 40% better.

Oh no, Plaxico’s gone!
Another factor that the nation’s media has been overstating is the loss of Plaxico (I like to call him Clank) Burress. Sure, he put up some good stats over the years and even had one real good year when Tommy was airing it out every week. The sad reality is though; he never lived up to his hype or draft status. His career has been marred with stupid mistakes, bad attitudes and failure to come through with the big plays when the Steelers needed them most. Somehow, the Steelers are supposed to miss that. I don’t get it. When he went down with injury last season, Antwaan Randle El more than picked up the slack for his loss and some thought he looked even better out there. Whether he did or didn’t, that’s in the eye of the beholder but I’m sure most would agree that at least we never had to question his desire out there. You couldn’t always do that with Clank. So, once again, the Steelers may just be a better team through subtraction rather than addition. And to think, I made this jotting without even mentioning that drop in the end zone in the AFC Championship that helped end the Steelers season. Nope, didn’t even mention it once.

Ty Law, no thanks
A lot of folks out there want the Steelers to make a late push for CB Ty Law. Don’t count me among them. A 30+ corner coming off of a major foot injury is normally not considered to be a good investment. Add to that how we really have no idea how his game will adapt to the rule changes enacted in the passing game last season (remember, he’s a very physical corner) and I would again call him a bad investment. In the last two drafts the Steelers have spent high draft picks on corners who look to be very talented and ready to contribute. I would rather give them the shot at taking a starter’s job than a high priced injury question mark. Worse case scenario, we still have last year’s starters who managed to survive just fine.

Jeff Reed
I don’t know why but I always get a chuckle out of his nickname “quadzilla”. His thick legs definitely warrant the moniker and I think it’s one of the better names I’ve heard. Anybody can call themselves Prime Time but Quadzilla? Don’t think so.

The de-Patriotization of New England
Since the Patriots are coming off of a run of winning three of the last four Super Bowls, many are considering them the favorites this year as well. I have no problem with that; they’ve earned that kind of respect. While I have no problem with it, I sure as heck don’t agree with it and the reason is simple, I think the Patriots have been forgetting what brought them to this point in the first place. Their success has come through the draft (in all rounds) and through the ability to sign “team first” type of veterans to lesser deals in order to play for a championship. Over the last couple of off-seasons and especially this last one, I think the front office may have just gotten a little too cute in trying to walk a very thin line between great schemes with some iffy players to picking up players just because they’ve had success in the past. I’ll detail what I mean. First, let’s look at the draft. In years before, the Patriots would often draft players that had both talent but would also be able to fit into their schemes. Sometimes this meant reaching a little to get the right kind of player who would perform better for them. Sure, getting Tom Brady with a sixth rounder has been key to this whole run (a very fortunate pick to say the least) but getting other players in the later rounds has been very helpful as well. In their last two drafts though I’ve noticed a bit of a trend and not a great one for the Pats. They’ve been drafting solely for their system without taking into as much account character (a major factor for New England), overall talent and the value of their draft picks. Two years ago the Patriots’ first day picks were, in order TE Ben Watson, DE Marquise Hill and SS Guss Scott. Watson is an athlete trying to find a position (TE or FB or WR), which is why the Pats nabbed him. They are a team that treasures flexibility but may have fallen so in love with that trait that they overlooked the fact that he may just be a workout wonder. Hill is a player that had a higher grade on him than where he was drafted but that may be where the problem lies. From some good sources that I’ve talked to (scouts), many teams were turned off by his personality to say the least. I can’t actually print some of the words that were used but I think you get the point. Of course, the Pats being who they are figure they can just turn anybody’s attitude around. Problem is, if you keep adding guys like that, that’s the attitude your team will reflect. Scott was considered a bit of a reach in round three as most sources I had were looking at him as a second day prospect. Again, you get lucky in a few drafts, sometimes it can go to your head and you start reaching for talent instead of players. The rest of that draft looks like backups at best although WR P.K. Sams has showed some nice flashes. OK, any team can have a rough draft (most of this draft class spent the year injured or on the bench) but with their last draft, I’ve picked up on a trend. Again, I think they’re drafting style instead of substance and versatility to play a few positions over the skill to play one better. Their first pick is a prime example of this. I actually like Logan Mankins; I thought he might have been a nice pick up for the Steelers in either the second or third round. He can play both guard and tackle and in a few years, might be a good player. Instead, the Pats drafted him in the first round and my guess is because of that versatility. They could have drafted numerous other players that were rated higher and have more talent but, once again, chose style over substance. They then gave there second pick to the Ravens for a higher pick next year, a great move later but they could have used it this year. In the third they nabbed a player I like, CB Ellis Hobbs, but a guy who projects as a nickel corner at the next level due to his lack of size. The Pats should be looking for potential starters. With a compensatory selection in the third they finished the first day by taking OT Nick Kaczur, a player very similar to their first pick in talent. Throw in a ho-hum second day and you’re now looking at two years of questionable drafts. Not a great way to build on a “dynasty”. Where I really started to question the Patriots ability was in their off season acquisitions, their area of success the past few years. In the past, they’ve been able to add names like Corey Dillon, Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel and even the talented but oft-injured Roosevelt Colvin. This off-season? Well, how about Duane Starks, a guy who has been so bad that he was demoted by the Arizona Cardinals. Yes, the Cardinals. After that, they went out and got Chad Scott. Ugh. Somehow I guess these two are supposed to shore up their troubled secondary. Then again, they did win a ring last year with Hank Poteat back there so I guess anything is possible. They also had the difficult job of finding a replacement for team leader Tedy Bruschi and in my opinion, went the opposite direction in signing me-first Chad Brown. Forget his advancing age and injury history (well, maybe not, those two issues are huge), he’s not the type of player that others can look to for leadership like they could with Bruschi. His playmaking days are long past, there’s really not much sense to this signing; really not much sense to any of their off season pickups if you ask me. Of course, when you get right down to it, they have three rings and I have none and their strange magic has worked before. It’s just my belief that they may have tried to be a little too cute this time.

That’s about all I have for right now. A lot of this article was written over the last couple of weeks so beware of me dating myself. I’m going to follow this one up with a bit of a camp report (pretty tough to do since I’m not there) so stay tuned.

Nuf fer now

Tim “been lazy for too long” Campion