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The new season is almost upon us and I guess it's about time that I get off my lazy butt and bring the Jottings back. A new year brings with it a new head coach and no more J. Peezy aka Joey Porter. I could go over every new aspect of the team but you can read that elsewhere. As always, I think I'll just throw out a bunch of opinions here and see what sticks. Here we go...

• Brian St. Pierre finally made the roster coming out of camp. I'm sure he is not one that is missing Bill Cowher. I guess it's good to see, a guy working so hard for so long to finally make the team. Maybe a lesson can be learned here for others. That is, right up until they cut him again.
• Kudos to former Gopher Gary Russell for making the team as an UDFA. For those of you out there that are unaware, I have been a huge backer of his since his signing. Sure, some of it has to with the fact that he is a former Gopher (Full disclosure: I'm a Minnesota grad.) but more of it has to do with the fact that he is a heck of a runner. I watched quite a few of his games at Minnesota before he was declared academically ineligible. My guess is that if had been allowed to play last year without having to split time with Laurence Maroney, he would have been a first day draft pick at least and possibly a first round selection. He's that good. He runs with a combination of the skills of Maroney and another former Gophers back, Marion Barber III. He has the power of Barber but can get outside like Maroney can. In my opinion, he's the best short yardage back that the Steelers have on their roster and I'm just hoping that they figure this out before wasting too much time watching Najeh Davenport get stood up at the goal line. The Steelers got a steal here, just like with Fast Willie Parker a few years back. They could make an interesting combo for years.
• I'm glad the Steelers cut Dallas Baker. He comes from a family of-surprise!-Cowboys fans. We just can't have that.
• Wow, big changes at center to say the least. Not only did Chukki Okobi not win the starters job but he was booted from the roster all together. I can't say that either is a major surprise though, he never built the strength to handle nose tackles (and he had more than enough time in the league to do it) nor did he ever try to learn to play guard. To say he was a limited player would be an understatement. That and paying $2 million to the guy to sit on the bench again this year was too much to handle. Sean Mahan was awarded the job based on solid but not spectacular play. The backup job went to UDFA Darnell Stephenson who, in the final pre-season game against Carolina, gave some look into the future by displaying the raw power that every other Steelers center had lacked. Give him a year of learning and he could compete for the starting role as soon as next year.
• Kevan Barlow, yeah, that was a good idea.
• Laurence Timmons... where should I start? Dang, I'll hold off, I'm still in a good mood.
• How much do you love having a punter that is down on each play looking for action? Normally you'd be afraid he'd get hurt. Now you're wondering if he's going to hurt someone else. The way he was down to get that fumble recovery against Carolina was one of my favorite parts of this pre-season. That and his booming kicks (minus his first nationally televised kick, a mighty 14 yard effort!) almost make me look forward to the Steelers punting this year.
• Had a chance to meet Dan Sepulveda's parents in pre-season too. Great folks, hope to see more of them. Too bad we couldn't get the game that day.
• Gotta love Carey Davis making the team. Talk about a guy willing to do anything to make a team. Running back, short yardage back, fullback, special teamer, peanut vendor, you name it, he did it. He's the type of guy all good teams need to have.
• Checking out some waiver wire moves made after the cut down, it's always a good sign when your team's castoffs are grabbed by other teams. Two ex-Steelers have been picked up so far by other teams: John Kuhn by Green Bay and Anthony Madison by Tampa Bay. Those are two guys I wish the Steelers could have found room for but with only 53 spots open, it gets hard sometimes. I wouldn't be shocked to see Okobi and Verron Haynes picked up by the Cardinals after week one as well-after veteran contracts are not guaranteed for the year.
• Once again I'm hearing a lot of discontent about "how badly" the Steelers did on day two of the draft. Let's put this in perspective a bit. First off, it's tough to make a good team if you are just a rookie. The Steelers are one year removed from a Super Bowl and two years removed from a 15-1 season so I still consider them to be at least a good team. Second, the Steelers didn't lose much in free agency this past year, not a lot of holes to fill. So, where does that leave the draftees? Often scrambling for a spot. Another factor is that the Steelers do so well in scouting out and signing some of the better undrafted free agents out there. This year they were able to find Gary Russell and Darnell Stapleton from the pool of the undrafted. That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for the guys with the smaller signing bonuses. On the bright side the Steelers did find a punter who already looks like the best one I can remember the Steelers having and a real surprise at corner (at least for me) with William Gay. I figure, if you can land a couple of solid players on day two you've done your basic job. If you can add more, well then you've had a great day. Besides, I'm more worried about their first pick.
• Speaking of their first selection... nah, I'm still in too good of a mood.
• One good thing about Chukki Okobi being shown the door is that LaMarr Woodley will get to wear his #56 from his Michigan days. I never did like Okobi having that number; it always seemed like a better number for a LB to have. I would feel the same about #s 58 and 59 as well. I'm also happy that the number was not given to Laurence Timmons who would have been an "LT" wearing #56. That's been done.
• Speaking of Timmons... no, not yet.
• I have to bring up the re-signing of OG Kendall Simmons. I know a lot of people are pulling for the guy considering his health issues and all but c'mon, this smacks of desperation at this point. I believe he was outplayed in training camp by Chris Kemoeatu for the starting role but I think the Steelers are just as worried about next season when Alan Faneca is likely going to be able to command a king's ransom for his services. I say fine, if Faneca leaves for greener pastures so be it. He'll cost someone a fortune. That doesn't mean you have to overpay what's left. That's why they have the draft and free agency. Get a replacement for Faneca for a fraction of the cost and have Kemoeatu start at RG. Don't cling on to a player who can't seem to up his game just because with him, you know what you have. Sometimes the bird in the hand takes a dump in your palm.
• By the way, for all of you out there who have a tough time spelling Kemoeatu, here's a suggestion. Instead of just abbreviating it Kemo, try this: Kemo-eat-u. Yep, he's a big hungry guy with a nasty disposition so just remember Kemo eat u. Works for me.
• I've been hearing a lot of negative comments about Matt Spaeth, the third round draft pick TE from Minnesota. For the life of me I can't figure out why. Some say that he was drafted too high but he was the Mackey Award winner last year, the same as Heath Miller a couple years before and Miller cost them a first rounder. He has looked fine in camp and has already moved ahead of Jerame Tuman into the #2 role. Others say that he is too big (tall) to block. Really? Have you seen the heights of the better offensive tackles in the league? I guess they can't block either. My guess is that too many folks out there wanted the Steelers to draft someone else in the third round, like a running back for instance. The name I hear most is Penn St.'s Tony Hunt. I'll tell you this much and of course it's just my opinion but I think the Steelers got a better back in Russell than the Eagles did with Hunt. Time will tell.
• Speaking of Hunt, did you see how he broke the tackle attempt of Laurence Timmons in the pre-season? Did it pretty easily didn't he? Speaking of Timmons... naaaah, can't bring myself to beat him up yet.
• If you haven't see the head shot of kicker Jeff Reed go Google it now. Anybody that looks like that can't be too fazed by pressure.
• I'm starting to believe that Rico Colclough is lucky to have a job right now. He's been a disaster as a punt returner and just hasn't progressed that much as far as a corner is concerned. If Tomlin, a former DB coach can't get him right then his time will be up. I wonder how tough it was to cut Anthony Madison over him.
• I noticed something when looking at the Steelers collection of running backs. Do you realize that the entire backfield, RBs and FBs alike, didn't cost the Steelers a single draft choice? Three were UDFAs (Fast Willie, Dan Kreider, Russell) and the other two (Najeh, Carey Davis) were street free agents. I don't have the time to check but I wonder when was the last time a Steelers team could say that? For that matter, when has another NFL team been able to do that? At least one that had a Pro Bowler playing for them.
• Steely McBeam... Ryan McBean. Coincidence? I just hope the Steelers can release McBeam as easy as they did McBean.
• Happy 70th birthday to the great Dick Lebeau on Sunday. Maybe the NFL will wake up someday and give him a bust in Canton. He was a great DB and the creator of the zone blitz defense. He's earned it in my book.
• Anyone else getting a bit sick of Jerome Bettis saying whatever it takes to hype his book?
• OK, OK, I'm running out of things to mention so I'll get to Timmons, or as I like to call him, Laurence Special Teammons. For those who already don't know, I have been a mild critic of his selection. Yeah, mild might be a kind word but hey, I'm trying to stay upbeat here. My evaluation so far? Not impressed. Yep, that's all. Maybe I'll go on an extended rant next week.

A trip to Cleveland opens up the season for the Steelers who get a break from the schedule maker early this year. Now, I don't like to predict games too often, I'm a terrible bettor. I'll just say this much: If you have a Steelers player on your fantasy football league team, you probably want to start him this week. I think that this game being Mike Tomlin's first, Bruce Arians' first as an offensive coordinator against the team that let him go and the fact that they're still the Browns, I think the Steelers will put up a nice point total. Maybe even enough to get Special Teammons a chance to play in some mop up duty action. OK, I won't hold my breath on the last part.

OK, that's enough for now, I had better get this over to Scott so he can have it ready before Monday rolls around. Oh, I almost forgot, my non-prediction for the Steelers game. How's this: ugly with lots of field goals. Try a TD for each group some FGs traded back and forth and a late one for Reed to push the good guys ahead in the end. My player of the game, let's go with Ike Taylor. He's due to catch one of those interceptions, right?

Enjoy the game everybody and I'll be back again next week. This year, I promise.

Nuf fer now

Tim "recommitting to getting the Jottings done this year" Campion