SB Nation - Sean McHugh

Pittsburgh Steelers 2009 Roster Analysis - The Tight Ends

Blitzburgh — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:59:58 -0000

We resume our tour of the Pittsburgh Steelers roster and the positional battles that should delineate this year's training camp in Latrobe by discussing the situation at tight end. It's quite an interesting one actually, as at the present moment, it's not at all clear what the organization intends to do past this season. Let's take a closer look.

Many Steelers fans have wondered why Heath Miller has not been more prominently involved in the offense since being drafted out of the University of Virginia in the 1st Round of the 2005 Draft. Miller has certainly been featured more than his predecessors at the position in Pittsburgh, but for a guy with such good hands and solid route-running ability, it's sometimes frustrating and perplexing that he's yet to catch 50 balls in a single season. I suppose as Jim Wexell told me and the site here last summer, there's only so many balls to go around.

Here's the deal though with Miller - and really, it's quite a fascinating development that's very much worthy of keeping an eye on and discussing. As a result of the pending labor dispute in the National Football League between the owners and the Players Association, Miller's free agent status is suddenly in question. Prior to the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, players became unrestricted free agents after accruing four years of service. Miller, who is set to hit the market after the 2009 season, will have accrued five years of service by then. However, one of the provisions of the CBAs expiration is that players must not have six years of service before becoming unrestricted free agents. Thus, if no new deal is brokered in time, Miller would be a restricted free agent in 2010.

Not aware of that? Don't sweat it. Neither was Mr. Miller.

This is one of the reasons that a new CBA will probably be worked out sooner rather than later and why it's probably unlikely that there will be a strike - or that it will ever even get close to that, for that matter. Players don't want to have to wait six years to become unrestricted free agents for obvious reasons. On the other hand, owners do not want an uncapped NFL - at least most owners not named Jerry Jones.

Anyway, as it relates to Heath Miller - I think the possibility that he would be restricted rather than unrestricted is more than enough reason for the Steelers to wait things out and not extend Miller sooner than they have to. If I had to guess, I'd say it ain't happening this offseason.

That's just speculation from me of course, but the incentives seem to be there for the organization to sit on their hands and wait for the dust to settle a bit before deciding on what to do with Heath Miller in particular. Sorry folks who are eager to see him be the next guy re-upped.

Coincidentally, Pittsburgh's #2 tight end, Matt Spaeth, is also set to be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Fans here on BTSC have debated Spaeth's abilities as a blocking tight end; others, including Mike Tomlin himself in 2007, have questioned Spaeth's toughness. To his credit, Spaeth has done a fairly solid job as a pass-catching tight end when his number has been called. Not outstanding, but solid enough. Spaeth had consecutive games with 6 catches in relief of Miller during Weeks 10 and 11 last year.

It's hard to say with any sort of confidence what the future might hold for Spaeth here in Pittsburgh. For me, that's because Miller's situation is vastly more complicated than most might realize. If Miller were in fact extended before hitting the open market, perhaps it's possible that Spaeth too is re-signed after this coming season. Obviously teams around the league aren't going to be willing to part ways with draft picks to acquire Spaeth, so it's likely that he could be retained at a very reasonable price. It might not make sense though to even give him a tender offer if 7th round rookie TE David Johnson proves anything at all this year, even on the Practice Squad. Johnson will be competing with hybrid TE/H-Back Sean McHugh for a very specialized roster spot - one that requires more blocking in certain packages than anything else. McHugh was solid last season in limited duty from his H-Back role. I don't think it would take too much for Johnson to dethrone him however, be it in 2009 or 2010. Then again, if Spaeth or Miller aren't in the organization's plans past this year, and Johnson is instead the guy they've penciled in at the #2 TE position, then perhaps McHugh's job is in less jeopardy.

Whew. Deep breath. Who knows how it will shake out, but from where I'm sitting, the tight end situation in Pittsburgh is a classic example of how the economics and governance structure of the NFL has the potential to supersede cut-and-dry talent evaluation.

Thoughts?

-Blitz- (Michael B.)

Wednesday Notes: Schwartz to "Put a Barbed-Wire Fence" Around Thanksgiving Game

Sean Yuille — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:53:53 -0000

Just in case anybody was wondering, I plan on putting together the 2009 NFL Draft HQ near the end of next month when I'm on "spring" break (yes, U-M's "spring" break is in February). The HQ will include a draft tracker for all 7 rounds, a mock draft database, and other draft-related things. (I still have the '08 version in the sidebar, and this year's will be something similar to that.)
Gunther Cunningham talked to the media on Tuesday, and I believe Scott Linehan will do the same today.
An article about last weekend's town hall meeting has been posted on the Lions' official site. This quote from Jim Schwartz about the annual Thanksgiving game stood out the most to me:

"It's going to be one of the first things I talk to the players (about) when they come back in March: we're going to put a barbed-wire fence around that Thanksgiving Day game," said Schwartz. "I'm not going to have people around the country talk about taking that game away from us.

"We're going to put a barbed-wire fence around that (and) the players are going to understand the importance of it."
I definitely like the passion behind that statement.
Dave Birkett posted some quotes from the meeting as well.
Part of former Lions tight end Sean McHugh was excited to see the Lions lose every week. Another part wasn't so excited since he still has friends on the team. McHugh was released by the Lions before the regular season started and was signed by the Steelers shortly after. I would say getting released was a huge blessing in disguise. He got released by a team that ended up going 0-16 and was quickly signed by a team that ended up in the Super Bowl.

Thursday Notes: Schwartz the Top Candidate?

Sean Yuille — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:21:00 -0000

Jim Schwartz is believed to be the top candidate for the Lions job, according to Tom Kowalski and Terry McCormick of the Nashville City Paper.
Contrary to some reports, Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has not been in contact with the Lions to set up a second interview. It was originally expected that Frazier would come in today or tomorrow for a second interview, but as of right now, nothing is scheduled.
Frazier did meet with the Rams earlier this week in Los Angeles as a finalist for that job. The interview apparently went well, so Frazier may not be on the market very much longer anyways.
Jim Harbaugh, who the Lions and some other teams reportedly were interested in, is thankfully staying at Stanford.
Lions quarterback Drew Stanton talked about this past season in a post on his blog.
Sean McHugh was lucky to be cut by the Lions before the start of the season, as he is now the Steelers starting fullback.
As posted yesterday, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford is going to return to school for another season. USC QB Mark Sanchez reportedly was going to do the opposite of Bradford by going pro, but that decision no longer seems to be set in stone.

Monday Notes: Falcons Game Observations

Sean Yuille — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:00:09 -0000

Off the top of my head, Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon, and Dan Campbell left yesterday's game with injuries. Sims was actually carted off the field with an ankle injury right before halftime and was listed as questionable to return. He was really the only defensive player that wasn't having problems making tackles, so his loss definitely hurt.

Lenon hurt his knee and had it heavily wrapped on the bench and Campbell went out after re-injuring his hamstring. Campbell has been limited due to the hamstring injury and hurt it again after only one catch. I think Michael Gaines may have also been hurt, but I have not heard any details about what happened to him.

We should have an update on all of the injuries from the Atlanta game later today.
Jon Kitna was very, very frustrated in the first half of yesterday's game. He not only was yelling at teammates but actually started to get in the face of a couple offensive coaches. On two separate occasions he called a timeout and quickly went over to the sideline and started yelling at a coach. The first time it was passing coordinator Kippy Brown that felt Kitna's wrath, and the second time it was running backs coach Sam Gash.

Kitna did calm down once the Lions started to score some points, but it was pretty discouraging to see him that angry. I like that he was showing passion, but there's a fine line between being fiery and being out of line. I tend to think the latter was where Kitna was as he really had no right to get in the faces of his coaches like that.
Calvin Johnson is this team's new #1 receiver as far as I'm concerned. He caught 7 passes for 107 yards and was clearly Kitna's go-to guy. Roy Williams hauled in 3 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown and made a couple nice plays, but Johnson is the Lions' premier receiver now.
Jon Kitna shouldn't be blamed for the interception he threw at the start of the second half as it apparently was Roy Williams' fault. Roy ran the wrong route and left Lawyer Milloy by himself to make the diving interception.
Despite their improvements during the preseason, the defense was absolutely pathetic. I don't know if I've ever seen a game with more missed tackles. That was a big reason why the Falcons ended up with 318 rushing yards. Michael Turner set a single-game franchise record for rushing yards with 220 of his own. He also scored a pair of touchdowns and would have had three had it not been for a holding penalty. Even their backup, Jerious Norwood, ran for 93 yards and a touchdown.
The passing defense wasn't any better. Matt Ryan went 9/13 for 161 yards and 1 touchdown. That touchdown came on his first NFL pass as he hit Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard score. Travis Fisher looked terrible on multiple occasions and Leigh Bodden didn't look much better at times.

To make matters worse, the dominant defensive line we saw in the preseason was rarely dominant in yesterday's game. The Lions only had a single sack and never got much pressure on Matt Ryan, resulting in his nearly 70% completion rating.
Detroit did seem to get closer to becoming a balanced team offensively. They ran the ball 21 times and had 33 passing attempts. Keep in mind, if the Lions weren't playing from behind during the entire game the amount of passing attempts would have been lower. Since they were trailing, though, they had to air it out more to give themselves a chance to win.
Kevin Smith only rushed for 48 yards on 16 carries in his NFL debut, but he didn't look bad by any means. There were more than a few plays where the offensive line was blown up and Smith had literally nowhere to run. Once or twice he was able to actually gain yards despite the terrible blocking, and on plays when there was a hole open he made a play. Plus, he did score a touchdown, which is great for any rookie in their first game.
Rudi Johnson only had 3 carries for 14 yards in this game. It's not surprising he didn't get more carries as he still is learning the playbook. The announcers said he barely knew any blocking assignments for passing plays, which is probably why he went in motion to the outside on the passing plays he was in the game for.
As mentioned when discussing Kevin Smith, the offensive line did not play well. Smith was tackled right when he got the handoff a few times, and Kitna's protection wasn't that great, either.
The Lions' inactives against Atlanta were as follows: QB Drew Stanton, OG Manny Ramirez, DE Ikaika Alama-Francis, DT Andre Fluellen, DT Landon Cohen, LB Gilbert Gardner, and CB Ramzee Robinson. Alama-Francis was bumped to the inactive list by DE Cliff Avril.
Even though there are still two games tonight that will affect the opening week of fantasy football, I am in good enough shape to start bragging about how sweet of an owner I am. In all three of my leagues I am not only ahead but am destroying my opponents. In the official POD League I am currently up on Maize 'n' Blue Jays 109.70-77.16. In the POD Overflow League I control a lead of 117.88-57.40. And finally, in the league that involves bloggers from both SB Nation and the AOL FanHouse, I am up 97.00-37.90.

I wasn't expecting to have all three of my teams turn out to be this good already, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Even my poorly drafted team in the official league put up 100+ points, although the big reason for that was that I had Michael Turner starting. We all got an up close look at how great of a game he had.
As far as fantasy football goes, I plan on posting an update on the official league every Tuesday. The update will include scores from each game and a quick recap of how each team did. I will also keep you guys updated on how I do in the overflow league as well as the SBN-AOL one.
Regarding my general posting schedule for the week that I will follow throughout the season, on top of the fantasy football update, I will also do a week whatever recap every Tuesday. I haven't decided on the exact format just yet, but I will try to briefly provide a recap of each game and/or will direct you to other SBN blogs for more information.

In general, what I expect my posting schedule or routine to look like is this: On Sunday nights/Mondays, I will recap the Lions game and discuss general things from it. On Tuesday, I will update fantasy football and the NFL. Moving on to Wednesday, I will wrap up coverage on the Lions' last game and begin to look ahead to their next one. Then Thursday will be spent really looking at the Lions' next opponent, and Friday and Saturday will get you ready for Sunday. I'll still have notes every day and keep you updated on any Lions news, but that will be in addition to what I listed above.
Ex-Lions tight end Sean McHugh was signed by the Steelers.
Chad Johnson, err, Chad Ocho Cinco, wasn't allowed to wear his new last name on his jersey this week due to a dispute with Reebok over unsold merchandise. I'm sure Ocho Cinco will have no problem buying his old unsold jerseys considering his new one will have little trouble selling.
The Jets were left in a predicament against Miami after kicker Mike Nugent got hurt in the first quarter of yesterday's game. Backup QB Kellen Clemens and safety Kerry Rhodes were actually attempting kickoffs before the second half in warm-ups. Thankfully for the Jets' sake neither was needed as Nugent returned in the third quarter.

Lions Add Two Players, Release Cannon and McHugh

Sean Yuille — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:50:28 -0000

Even though the Lions got their roster down to 53 players yesterday, it was expected that there would still be some more moves made before the roster is finalized heading into the regular season. The reason for that is because the Lions and all other NFL teams keep a close eye on who gets released as there may be players out there that can come in and make the team better. Detroit felt that there were two worth picking up as they decided to sign linebacker Ryan Nece and claim running back Marcus Thomas.

To make room on the roster for Nece and Thomas, the Lions released linebacker Anthony Cannon and tight end/fullback Sean McHugh. Basically Cannon was swapped out for Nece, who will come in without any learning curve since he has played for the Buccaneers in all six years of his career. Nece knows the Tampa-2 and Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry knows Nece as he coached him from 2001-2006.

The move to release a tight end in exchange for a running back also makes sense. When the Lions announced their cuts yesterday it was very surprising to see that only two running backs made the team. Looking back, though, it is pretty clear that they were going to pick up someone, but kept only two running backs to keep more depth at other positions for the time being. That gave the Lions more flexibility until they found an extra RB, and that extra RB is Marcus Thomas, who was cut by the Chargers yesterday. Thomas is entering his first year in the NFL as he was drafted by San Diego in the fifth-round of this year's draft.

Tuesday Notes: First Round of Cuts Coming Today

Sean Yuille — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:52:33 -0000

The Lions practiced in full pads yesterday afternoon on the outdoor field.
Wide receiver Taye Biddle, who was on the injured reserve, has been released by the Lions.
All NFL teams must cut their roster down to 75 players by 4 p.m. ET today. The Lions currently have the maximum amount of players on their team, so 5 players will be released sometime today. This round of cuts comes before the rosters are trimmed down to 53 players on Saturday.
Jordon Dizon is going to be Paris Lenon's backup at middle linebacker when the regular season begins.
Tom Kowalski believes Tatum Bell is likely going to be the Lions' #2 running back despite a poor preseason.
Jerome Felton will probably be the Lions' starting fullback this season.
Dan Campbell is still nursing a hamstring injury that has prevented him from practicing at all this summer. He is "working out" with the team, but it doesn't appear that he has taken part in a full practice yet.
Sean McHugh is questionable for Thursday's game due to an ankle injury.
Aveion Cason will not play on Thursday as he is also suffering from an ankle injury.