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Happy April 1st

Saw this on Mondesishouse, which was in turn linked from the article about Omar Khan interviewing with Seattle (the most unfootball of football news)

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10011/1027372-66.stm?cmpid=steelers.xml

Apparently, they're interviewing Bobby April, who was the first guy everyone in town thought of after Ligashesky got axed, and Rip Scherer Jr., who has a few ties to the organization. Interesting bits printed below. 

"Bobby April, who coached the Steelers' special teams in 1994 and 1995, is a candidate to replace Ligashesky. Tomlin interviewed April yesterday

Also, Rip Scherer Jr. could be a candidate to become the Steelers' quarterbacks coach. Scherer, a Pittsburgh native, is the quarterbacks coach of the Carolina Panthers. He interviewed last week to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Virginia and it is possible the Panthers would grant him permission to interview for the Steelers' job.

Scherer was head coach at the University of Memphis when he hired Tomlin for his second job as a graduate assistant coach in 1996 and the two have remained close. They are both William & Mary graduates. Scherer is the cousin of Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations."

 Still no word on an OLine coach.

Anyone else intrigued by this? It's sort of a twist on the OT as 3rd TE thing on the goalline. It worked exceptionally well punching Mendenhall into the endzone. I don't recall ever hearing about him playing FB in camp or practice. Is this something we're going to be seeing more of? That kind of position flexibility is a big Tomlin thing and it could free up a roster spot but I doubt he has much experience as a runner or receiver.

George Foster was just cut today by the Lions as they bring in Jon Jansen from the Redskins. Foster used to play very well during his time in Denver, starting for 3 seasons. He was a part of that Shanahan O-line school that seemed to be very consistently good with solid fundamental techniques. I believe they stressed a lot of zone blocking and mobility.

However, his playing time diminished when he went to Detroit. It may have been because of injury or because he was bitter about being traded from a playoff team to the Lions. However, the Steelers have a weird habit of picking up former Lions. Does anybody know anything about this guy? He was first-round talent, has good size and is still young. We could bring him in for next to nothing, even if it's just to spark a bit of competition among the tackles.

Click Here for the link.

It's occurred to me recently that there's a few factors that may contribute to Miller making the probowl this season. I certainly think he's talented enough and a better pure TE than some players, like Gates or Winslow. But, in a numbers contest, he's gotten overlooked for the honors. He has a good shot this year though.

1. Contract year. He'll likely be playing above his usual high level.

2. Despite whatever upside our next 3rd receiver will have, Miller we be a more consistent and reliable target during the bulk of the season while our replacement for Washington learns the system.

3. The offseason has shuffled Gonzales and Winslow to the NFC. Now there's a few talented TE's left in the AFC, but with those two gone, Miller really might have a better chance the the PB this year. This could be a career year for him.

Link here!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f87508&template=heath+miller&released

The body is too long to post here. Suffice to say this golden nugget of a quote was contained therein:

'When asked abut the decision, offensive co-ordinator Arians stated "We held a private workout to assess our TE situation. Matt Spaeth clearly beat Miller out in all the drills. It became apparent he's the guy I want Ben (Roethlisberger) to look for in the flat for a solid 4 yard gain." Arians named players "...(T Willie) Colon and (FB Carey) Davis" are expected to round out the TE roster spots. Miller may be resigned to the practice squad and activated on day when a 5TE set featured in the game plan.'

link here: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-ravens320,0,7828732.story

the story reads:

"Contrary to rumors, the Ravens are not expected to kick off the 2009 regular season at the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the Thursday night season opener.

As part of their scheduling requests to the league, the Ravens asked not to play a prime-time game at Heinz Field this season, a team official told The Baltimore Sun.

The Ravens have played a nationally televised game at Pittsburgh for three of the past four seasons, including the past two years. The Ravens have never won a prime-time game at Pittsburgh, losing all four times.

It has become tradition that the defending Super Bowl champion opens the NFL season with a nationally televised game at home. There were rumors that the league would begin with Ravens-Steelers, a rematch of the AFC championship game."

in 8 games at the #1 TE, Miller had roughly 3 catches per game and 240 yds on the season, or 30 yards a game. At 2 games as the #1 TE, Spaeth has 6 catches per game and has roughly 120 yds/50 yards per game (as a starter). It's obvious that Ben has been looking to the TE position more as part of the new-ish "shorter throws/spreading-the-ball-around" offense we have now.

The question is...

How big is Miller's role going to be when he returns? How is that going to open things up for the rest of our offense? I think Spaeth having twice Miller's productivity is more an issue with Arians and Ben than Miller as a player. Miller's really one of the best TEs in the league and I've been pissed at how underutilized he's been. Are we going to see a few 100yd+ games out of Miller in the coming weeks? Thoughts?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08312/926117-66.stm

Willie Parker's return to the starting lineup didn't last very long.

After finally returning from a four-game absence to play in Monday night's victory against the Washington Redskins, the two-time Pro Bowl running back has a new injury -- an ailing shoulder -- and will not play against the Indianapolis Colts.

Parker injured his shoulder sometime in the third quarter against the Redskins -- "I'm not sure how," he said -- but still finished the game. His shoulder did not begin aching until the next day, and he has not practiced this week. Parker finished with 70 yards on 21 carries in his first game back from a sprained ligament in his left knee.

He is expected to miss only one game and will be replaced by Mewelde Moore, who averaged 101 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns in three previous starts. Moore had three big catches for 45 yards against the Redskins.

Meantime, Ben Roethlisberger missed practice for the second day in a row but will attempt to practice today -- an indication that he and the Steelers intend for him to play against the Colts. However, a final determination likely will not be made until game day.

Wide receiver Hines Ward (knee), cornerback Deshea Townsend (heel), outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley (calf) and left tackle Marvel Smith (back) also did not practice. But, with the exception of Smith, they are expected to play.

"When you see guys like Dick Butkus, the Ronnie Lotts, the Jack Tatums, these guys really went after people," Polamalu told reporters. "Now, they couldn't survive in this type of game. They wouldn't have enough money. They'd be paying fines all the time and they'd be suspended for a year after they do it two games in a row. It's kind of ridiculous."

good point. read the whole thing below.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3646392

Hampton seems to have satisfactorily slimmed down to be the fat man on the line again. I saw him on the sidelines on Friday night and he still looked pretty immense. In shorts and a tee he was about the size of one of the other linemen in full pads. Always nice to have a 4 time probowler stopping the run, tho.

http://news.steelers.com/article/93238/

We were all wondering when he'd be back in the mix. I'm glad to hear he now gets to get ready for football by playing football. Still waiting on Troy...