Hey Trojans fans, it's Michael Bean from SB Nation Studios sharing one of the 32-50 player profile videos we're creating prior to this year's NFL Draft. Part of our first batch of ten released yesterday and today was Matthew Kalil. Maybe not quite the dominant prospect as, say, Jake Long, but looks like a safe bet to be a Pro Bowl type player for years.

Check it out and catch the other prospects' videos if you're so inclined. Lots of draft coverage out there. We tried to just do something fun and unique. Thanks!

Hey LSU fans, it's Michael Bean from SB Nation Studios sharing one of the 32-50 player profile videos we're creating prior to this year's NFL Draft. Part of our first batch of ten released yesterday and today was Morris Claiborne. Wonderlic, Schmoderlic. Claiborne looks legit.

Check it out and catch the other prospects' videos if you're so inclined. We tried to have fun with these and do something unique. Thanks!

Hey Carolina fans, it's Michael Bean from SB Nation Studios sharing one of the 32-50 player profile videos we're creating prior to this year's NFL Draft. Part of our first batch of ten released yesterday and today was Quinton Coples. Looks like the real deal to me. Maybe a tiny bit of bust potential, but much more likely he'll be productive right away.

Check it out and catch the other prospects' videos if you're so inclined. Thanks!

Many thanks to Jason (big_jay) for another mega seven round mock draft. With the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine in the books, and free agency on the horizon, this was a good time for one of our resident draftniks to file this well done mock.

--Michael B. ---

***********************

1. Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck QB, Stanford

2011 1st round Draft Pick: Anthony Castonzo OT, Boston College
Team Needs: RT/OC//OG/WR/CB/SS

This pick is a done deal, a no brainer. The Colts get Luck-y yet again (terrible pun I know) by being in position to draft a franchise quarterback just as Peyton Manning’s career is winding down. But the Colts have a lot of overhauling left to do to become prominent again. Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon are free agents and the offensive line needs an infusion of talent. Defensively it’s likely that new head coach Chuck Pagano with convert them into a 3-4 scheme, and even if they do stay a 4-3 Pagano will spend more time, money, and draft picks on the defense than his predecessors. Dwight Freeney will convert into an OLB in the new scheme but Robert Mathis is a 31 year old free agent and Jerry Hughes is looking like a bust so far. The Colts have one of the weakest secondaries in the NFL and upfront they don’t have anyone who can play nose tackle.

*****Trade*****

2. Cleveland Browns (via St. Louis Rams) – Robert Griffin III QB, Baylor

2011 1st round Draft Pick: Phil Taylor NT, Baylor
Team Needs: WR/RT/QB/RB

I’ve never included a trade in my mock drafts before but this one makes too much sense. Colt McCoy hasn’t shown much since the Browns took him in the third round and they don’t have a lot invested in him financially so this trade makes perfect sense. And the Rams have pretty much gone on record as saying that the second overall pick is up for auction and the Browns have the most firepower and instant gratification to offer after last year’s trade which netted them the Atlanta Falcons first round pick. All of the other likely culprits looking to trade up to draft RGIII like the Dolphins and Redskins would have to mortgage their futures by parting with first round picks this year, in 2012, and one in 2013 to beat the Browns as the Rams can make this trade and still acquire one of their top targets at pick number four. Getting RGIII would be a huge coup for the Browns and provide a large stepping stone from out of the bottom of the AFC North division.

3. Minnesota Vikings – Matt Kalil OT, USC

2011 1st Draft Pick: Christian Ponder QB, FSU
Team Needs: LT/CB/WR/OG/FS

The Vikings biggest issue offensively has been trouble protecting the quarterback. Matt Kalil has to be their top priority in the 2012 draft and because of the Rams trade Kalil will be available to protect Christian Ponders blindside for the foreseeable future. He is an elite talent and would replace a severely untalented Charlie Johnson. Perhaps the Vikings biggest need overall would be at cornerback. Antoine Winfield is 35 years old and cannot stay healthy while Chris Cook has legal troubles. If the Vikings took anyone besides Matt Kalil it would be LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. Another option would be Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon. A couple of years ago it was a strength but now the wide receiver corps needs an overhaul.

4. St. Louis Rams (via Cleveland Browns) – Justin Blackmon WR, Oklahoma State

2011 1st round Draft Pick: Robert Quinn DE/OLB, UNC
Team Needs: LT/WR/CB/OLB/DT

St. Louis gets to trade back and can still draft one of their top targets. Their two biggest needs will be at left tackle and at wide receiver. Sam Bradford was beaten down this last season and the team needs to do everything it can to better protect him. If they stay with the second pick in the draft it’ll be Matt Kalil. He would play left tackle, moving Rodger Saffold over to left guard or right tackle to replace Jason Smith who has been a huge bust to this point. At wide receiver Brandon Lloyd has already stated that he’s going to sign wherever former OC Josh McDaniels ends up. On defense the Rams could use a lot of help. Their tackles are getting old, both OLB’s are free agents that needed to be replaced anyway, and their secondary is a mess.

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Thank goodness for Neal Coolong, Anthony Defeo, Ivan Cole, Rebecca Rollet and all of you who have kept Behind The Steel Curtain humming at full speed. As for me, I've been MIA. Why? Well, I've relocated to New York City to work full time on SB Nation's new foray into video.

My job in particular, as one of a six-year tenured veteran of this network, has been to lead and manage the blogger component of our bold video initiative. That's meant getting a bunch of bloggers to agree to be on camera, purchasing, assembling, distributing and training a wide range of editors to negotiate high quality gear and take a part of their editorial coverage from print to video. It's been enormously fun moving up here to NY and leading this charge. So, naturally, I'll be a part of this blogger roll out.

I haven't had a second to breathe, let alone write and check in with Steeler Nation here. Thankfully things seem to be chugging along well. But, being that I'll be managing and working with at least 150 of our network's editors and/or contributors over the course of this year, obviously I best immerse myself as well as we make this bold new plunge into the medium of the future.

Because I work side by side with our studio's incredible roster of talent, I'll be able to bring you fun, well-produced stuff throughout the year. But just know, the only reason I'm not grinding away and yucking it up like I have the past six years, is the simple fact that I've been blessed with this new gig.

More soon.

Hey there Steeler Nation. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. You haven't heard from me much this past few months, as I've been tied up with a move to New York and then helping lay the groundwork for SB Nation's foray into video launching on March 1st. More on that soon, but one of the many things involved with that process is getting our video podcast studio running like clockwork -- from fielding calls to a producer working some really badass equipment that controls both the audio and video feeds. So, on Wednesday night, Brad Wells of Stampede Blue joined me in our studio to record about 45 minutes of NFL commentary -- some specific to the Steelers and Colts, but also some NFL Combine talk amongst ourselves and three guests. Many thanks to Brad, the recently hired Dan Rubenstein, Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft, and Bill Connelley, SB Nation's lead college football editor and one of the managing editors at Rock M Nation.

Having recorded on Wednesday night, there's of course plenty of new information about the Combine's proceedings, but there's enough fun and interesting stuff in it to warrant posting here on Sunday. Catch you all soon!

IX - Sean Conboy, who writes for Pittsburgh Magazine, weighs in with a nice feature commentary on the hiring of Todd Haley as the new offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and why fans should not be worried about any potential beef between he and Ben Roethlisberger.

X - Dermontti Dawson has always been a great interview. Now he gets to conduct an interview as a soon-to-be Hall of Famer. The longtime standout center for the Steelers will be enshrined in Canton this coming summer.

XIII - What do you think? Will Jerricho Cotchery receive a multi-year contract offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers? Is his future with the six-time Super Bowl champions directly related to the future of Hines Ward? I'm not sure they need to be necessarily because I think the Steelers will prove to be cautious with investing in Emmanuel Sanders in the long run, and because you never know how expensive Mike Wallace might prove to be on the open market.

XIV - It was before my time, or at least before professional football was a regular part of my life, but before there was Hard Knocks, HBO had a football show called 1st & 10 that ran for six seasons. The series was not a documentary franchise though.

This show ran on HBO for six seasons, starting in 1984. Since the whole collection only cost $5.99 on Amazon, I figured I would take a look and maybe there would be something there, you know? Not something as in "secretly changed television forever"-to reiterate, this is a show about a Pro Football team called the California Bulls starring Delta Burke and O.J. Simpson and a pre-Crypt Keeper John Kassir and pre-Law and Order: Sex Creeps Christopher Meloni-but maybe something like how Patton Oswalt recommended this show with the brother from Everybody Loves Raymond that ran on FOX for a few years, ‘Til Death, because it got entertainingly weird in later years, possibly because the writers knew the show was doomed.

Who remembers this?

XL - The article was published over the weekend, but do you agree with the authors at Grantland who posited that the slow but steady death of football is upon us? I must say, I agree, and though I can't search through the site's archives to find the link, I remember writing (in less detail or as creatively) two years ago that we were experiencing the beginning of the end of football, as we know it, as research about the lasting impacts associated with repeated head trauma began piling up.

XLIII - In the event that violence continues to be regulated out of the game, might as well enjoy the physical, bone-crunching hits that make us both cringe and cheer while we can.

Not a day has passed since the final second ticked off the clock in Super Bowl XLVI, the final game of the 2011 NFL season, but Las Vegas already has posted their first set of Super Bowl Odds for the 2013 season. God Bless America.

So, where do the Pittsburgh Steelers stand? Let's take a look.

2013 SB Odds

Green Bay Packers: 6/1

New England Patriots: 7/1

New Orleans Saints: 8/1

Philadelphia Eagles: 12/1

Pittsburgh Steelers: 12/1

Houston Texans: 12/1

Baltimore Ravens: 14/1

New York Giants: 15/1

**********

Several things stand out to me. Firstly, even though the New York Giants have proven to be wildly inconsistent during the regular season in recent years, their roster seems to be well suited to contend with the league's best once again in 2013. They're not excessively old on either side of the ball, they have a top-shelf quarterback, and the defense will likely only get better collectively.

I like the way they stacked the AFC contenders (though I think the Pats are terrible value at 7/1 right now; they'll fall down to the pack a bit at some point next season when their defense again starts to look like it's not championship caliber). But I think it's fair to rank the Steelers and Texans as the next best teams in the AFC. Watch out for Houston next season. If they can catch a few breaks in the injury department, they'll be a load to handle.

Ravens fans could easily argue, however, that their team belongs ahead of both the Steelers and Texans.
They did, after all, have New England on the ropes in the AFC Championship Game. Despite getting long in the tooth in places, the Ravens have drafted well in recent years and should improve in more areas than they regress.

Plenty of time to assess the strength of teams' rosters later this spring and summer once free agency and the 2012 NFL Draft have come and gone, but a fun first look at who's again expected to be in the conversation in the final stages of next year.

IX - Mike Tomlin broke down the SB matchup and shared what tunes he rocks out to while on a long road trip in an interview with ESPN Radio in New York earlier this week.

X - Many believe that Hines Ward will make the successful transition to NFL coach once his playing days are over. It might be more plausible that Ward begins his coaching career in the collegiate ranks, perhaps even at his alma mater, the University of Georgia.

XIII - The big news this week in Steelers Country was the election of Jack Butler and Dermontti Dawson to the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012. Huge congratulations to both, but particularly Butler who was both an incredible player and one of the executives behind the scenes that transformed the Steelers organization. If you're unfamiliar with Butler's career legacy, there's no better place to start than Tim Gleason's interview with Butler here on BTSC several years ago.

XIV - It's Super Bowl Sunday, the final day of the 2011 NFL season. By now you know the story-lines of the New England Patriots and the New York Giants SB rematch, the sub-plots and the key matchups. You probably have also noticed that I have not been around these parts here much lately. That's because I started a new job in January with SB Nation that's kept me even more busy than I anticipated. The new job is working on SB Nation's new video initiative, which got underway after we were awarded one of YouTube's highly coveted Original Channel grants. For a longer read on YouTube's big bet, check out the cover story in an early January issue of the New Yorker.

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After the Pittsburgh Steelers were bounced from this year's playoffs by the Denver Broncos last Sunday afternoon, speculation immediately began about Hines Ward. Was he going to retire? Had he played his last game in a Steelers uniform? Ward insists that he is not retiring, and he's made it clear that he understands the need to restructure his contract in order to return for his 15th season in Pittsburgh.

Even so, some wonder if the Steelers should bring him back. At 34 years old, Ward is definitely in the twilight of his career, but I don't think anything about this season necessarily suggests he can't still play. Ward finished the season with 46 catches for 381 yards and 2 TDs. His 8.3 yards per reception were the lowest of his NFL career. However, Ward caught an impressive 73 percent of the passes thrown his way. His catch rate was easily the highest amongst Steelers wide receivers. Mike Wallace's catch rate was 63 percent, 56 percent for Antonio Brown, while Emmanuel Sanders only hauled in 51 percent of the passes thrown his way.

I'd need to go back and watch the tapes again, but obviously a healthy percentage of Ward's 46 receptions came in the form of bubble screens. And yes, I was as frustrated by those play calls at times as you were. But the fact of the matter is those plays are essentially an extension of the running game, and some of the few plays where Roethlisberger wasn't in regularly under pressure or sacked frequently. In fact, I'd guess that he was never sacked on those types of quick-hitting horizontal passing plays.

More on this after re-watching the games and isolating Ward's receptions, but to me, the numbers are pretty clear. Ward was still a viable offensive weapon when his number was called. Three out of four times that the ball was thrown his way, Ward made the catch. And on average, those connections went for just over 8 yards per pop. Not staggering productivity by any stretch of the imagination, but for a team that struggled to protect the quarterback or run the ball consistently, perhaps it would have behooved Bruce Arians and Big Ben to utilize Ward more regularly, even at the expense of the spectacular, big play down the field.

Obviously Ward can't be targeted too much for the simple reason that he's not able to create enough separation on many routes down the field. But Ward knows he can still work the soft spot of zones and use his savvy to get a half step on defensive backs in the short passing game. Again, it may not be spectacular, but it would help keep Big Ben upright and healthy, the chains moving at a more steady clip, and presumably help the defense by shortening the game slightly and minimizing the veteran group's exposure to wear and tear over the course of a long season.

IX - Here's something to help you take the final steps towards putting the Steelers disappointing playoff loss to bed. Or not. Looks like the Broncos opening play of overtime could easily have been negated by an illegal formation penalty for only have six men on the line of scrimmage. At least seven are required by rule. Hehe. Darn. Those be the breaks this time.

X - The Steelers will reportedly make a final determination about Hines Ward's future with the team by March. I don't know why some consider this to be 'earlier than expected' being that March is the start of free agency and the time when the Steelers will be executing whatever strategy they've devised for this year's offseason moves in free agency and the draft. One thing's clear -- Ward knows he must take a pay-cut and restructure his contract in order for it to make sense for the Steelers to retain him for a 15th season. Ward said as much in his Tuesday afternoon interview with Tunch & Wolf.

XII - Ron Lippock, who runs the outstanding resource 'Pittsburgh Daily Sports Bulletin', recently interviewed Gabe Rivera, the former Steelers offensive lineman who was tragically injured during his rookie season in 1983. Good stuff as always from Ron and the PDSB.

XIV - Luke Ravensthal, Pittsburgh's mayor, 'Tebows' in public on Wednesday to settle up his bet with Denver mayor Michael Hancock from Sunday's wild card matchup.

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It was a very fun final podcast for the Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 season. I didn't spend much time or invest any resources on fringe production quality, so the show definitely remained raw all year. But like everything else, it improved with practice. It's been quite fun taking to the internet faux airwaves each week -- and sometimes more than once per week -- all season. For most of the sessions, I've been joined by Bill Priatko, a former NFL player and longtime close friend of Dick LeBeau's. An octogenarian, Priatko's memory and mental acuity for the game then and now is amazing. As much as I enjoyed speaking with Bill each week, it was made more enjoyable by the presence of Dave Villiotti, a former high school player under Priatko during Villiotti's high school days in Swissvale. Dave's been writing about the Steelers on numerous fan sites, and he's penned great history pieces the last two years for my preseason print publications -- including one about Priatko this past summer -- but I was pleasantly surprised by how great he was on the show despite playing second fiddle to my ramblings and the understandable preferential treatment that I showed Priatko because of his vast catalog of stories and close access to LeBeau and the team.

Anyway, it looks like we'll keep it going throughout the offseason. Perhaps not each week, but plenty frequently, particularly while the playoffs are still being played and the first wave of interest in personnel assessment is fresh on the minds of Steeler Nation. Thanks to all of you for tuning in throughout the year. The numbers were pretty darn encouraging really considering how raw it was and how steep of a learning curve it was. It's harder and harder to find time to write everything I'd like at this particular moment in my life, but it's fun as hell to get a bunch out there in the 90 minutes or so each week that we record.

Also, huge thanks to Neal Coolong for his immense contributions this year. Having him on each Monday would be adding too many cooks to the kitchen. But it was Neal and his brother who helped me get the puppy going in the first place, and some of my favorite moments all season were learning a few things about the nuts and bolts of the game from Neal while listening to him break something down on the show. For as great a job as he does writing on the site, he's, in my opinion, even better talking about the game. Thanks Neal.

Good last show. Hard to remember everything covered, but the list includes:

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That didn't take long. Not one day had passed since the Pittsburgh Steelers bowed out of the 2011 NFL Playoffs with their shocking 29-23 OT loss to the Denver Broncos that the media hit the ground running with rampant speculation about the pending retirement of Hines Ward. Well, hold the phone according to none other than Ward himself. Writing on his Facebook page late Monday afternoon, Ward had the following to say about his retirement plans....or lack thereof:

I'm also getting lots of questions about retirement so let me set the record straight: I have no plans on retiring right now. I want to win another Superbowl. I don't know where the media is getting this info from but rest assured that when I decide to retire, you'll hear it from ME first. - HINES

Ward began his post by expressing disappointment and apologies to Steeler Nation for the way the Steelers performed in Sunday afternoon's loss to Denver. All class, as usual, from the future Hall of Famer.

We'll speculate about Ward's future with the Steelers, and whether or not the unthinkable of him finishing his career elsewhere is in the cards, but for now, let's just start every conversation about No. 86 under the assumption that he will not in fact be hanging it up after 14 wildly successful seasons with the black-and-gold.

IX - Dale Lolley weighed in on the Steelers shocking overtime loss to the Broncos late Sunday night, as well as the season as a whole and where the team stands heading into the 2012 offseason. Good stuff, as always, from Dale.

X - Ron Cook files his usual post-game 'Two-Minute Drill' at the Post-Gazzette.

XIII - Pete Wilmoth at SB Nation Pittsburgh points to Demaryius Thomas as the player who deserves the lion's share of the credit for the Broncos' unexpected offensive success against the Steelers top-ranked defense.

XIV - Here's Benstonium's latest parody video, which will hopefully provide a quick laugh on a gloomy Monday in Steeler Nation. Great stuff as always.

XL - Your obligatory Tim Tebow article. 'It's time to believe in Tebow.' Agree or disagree?

XLIII - A new offseason means the revival of draft talk. We'll have our usual comprehensive coverage here in the months to come, including a new four round mock draft perhaps as early as today. But for now, here's Rob Rang's latest mock draft for the Steelers, who we now know will be selecting at No. 24.

Playoff football returns for the six-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. We sure are blessed to have meaningful games in January to watch most years as fans of the Steelers. As nice as it is to just qualify for the postseason, the hope is always that the Steelers get or stay hot at the right time and win it all. Even in a year like 2011 when so much is stacked against the Steelers, the optimism remains. And why shouldn't it? Especially this weekend against a very average Denver Broncos team?

Both home teams won on Saturday however, and it appears as if the New York GIants will make it 3-for-3. Pittsburgh can expect a loud and riled up crowd in Denver, so if there was any advantage the Broncos have, it begins and ends there really. Hopefully the Steelers get out to a fast start and take the crowd out of it a little bit, not to mention force Denver to get outside its comfort zone offensively.

Catch you all during the game. Go Steelers!

IX - No need to link to the TV Distribution Map this week, as all four wild card round games are broadcast to the entire country on network television. So instead, here's the official injury and status reports for both the Steelers and the Broncos. The two squads meet Sunday afternoon in Denver to conclude the opening weekend of the 2011 NFL Playoffs.

X - Great piece about Isaac Redman on Yahoo! today titled 'Isaac Redman's faced tougher tests than the Denver Broncos.' Lots of tidbits in there I had no idea about, including Redman's upbringing, why he wound up at Bowie State, why Mike Tomlin gave him a particular nickname, to name but a few. Good stuff. Quite the opportunity for Redman this weekend.

XIII - John Fox, like so many coaches around the NFL, got his start in the National Football League under Chuck Noll. Fox was a defensive backs coach from 1989-1991 after a successful stint as a defensive coach at the University of Pittsburgh from '86-'88. Anyway, on Thursday, Fox joined 102.3 The Ticket in Denver (link to transcription) to talk about the Broncos' upcoming wild card matchup with the Steelers. In addition to commenting on Noll and the Rooneys, Fox answered questions about Sunday's game. One noteworthy comment concerned how the Broncos would not try to throw the ball much against Pittsburgh's defense. Obviously his words to the media should be taken with a beach's worth of salt, but I bring it up to ask you whether you think Denver will try to throw on the Steelers' depleted secondary. I kind of think they will, at least early in the game in an attempt to strike first and get the Steelers on their heels a bit.

XIV - Jerricho Cotchery commented on Santonio Holmes during an interview on WFAN in New York on Thursday. In the interview, Cotchery said that Holmes was a well-respected, hard-working teammate during his first season in New York last year. Apparently though something changed in year two, as Holmes was called out by his teammates during the Jets' late-season collapse. Cotchery, of course, also fielded questions about his role with the Steelers and the playoff tilt with Denver this weekend.

XL - Sticking with the interview theme, Maurkice Pouncey didn't appreciate all the Tim Tebow questions asked of him during his Friday interview on The Fan. The second-year center, who was named a first team All Pro for the second time in as many seasons, will unfortunately not get to take his frustration out on the Broncos this weekend, as he's been ruled out with a nagging ankle injury. On the other side of the matchup, Erick Dekker, who's been Tebow's favorite target this season, also joined The Fan this week to talk about backing into the playoffs and squaring off against the mighty Steelers in round one.

XLIII - Dale Lolley recaps the week's news and makes his prediction for Sunday's game in his latest Friday blog post.