4BillsintheBurgh

Jerame Tuman has a hammy and they need someone with a little experience to fill in so they upgraded and got rid of one of their undrafted te's. I don't think it's the "As the Football Gm's Turn" soap opera at work. Donahoe/Mularkey and the Steelers have/had the same taste in TE's so it's worth a shot for the Steelers. People around here were talking about Nance pre-draft because of his time spent catching balls from Big Ben, but nothing happened and I never heard anything after that, including the last couple of days. The Steelers have plenty of 3-4-5 wr talent, I don't think Nance helps them at this point.

Just a note, in past years I noticed that the St Louis wr's did not substitute that way. There was a number 3 guy (K Curtis) who played in the 3 and 5 wr sets. There were two guys who played in the 4 and 5 wr sets (mcdonald, looker). I assume it was to keep them as fresh as possible during the game. Depending on how Fairchild plays it and whether he thinks he has the talent, you may see the same and hopefully less of J Reed if Parrish can move him to the number four role. One other thing about the Rams wr's, you didn't see a Nance body type. They were all small and fast. One other reason for no PS for him.

What about P Price? Did I say that out loud?

What is your roster layout and how long does that take? Sounds like it could go for a long time.

Going into your draft, don't make the standard listing of players into tiers. Instead, decide which players you consider good enough to be your number one starter at each position, then two, three etc. So depending who's available at the bottom of the first you go from there. If there are two rb's that you feel are number one's (say S Jackson and Cadillac) then you should take them. If none or one are available, you can take the top rb and the top wr or qb if you want. This type of setup really helps in the later rounds when you are looking for those players with some potential that could have slipped down in the draft. In a 10 team league, I'd think that you'd want to get at least one rb in the 1-2 round.

Never say never, there is a lot of the preseason left. Although I do agree that Alexander is the safe number one at this point, with LT next and LJ third. I don't like the coaching changes for LJ, but I'll be watching to see if the Chiefs first team O can put together some decent drives this preseason. Seems like Herm will plod down the field instead of going for the big strike, and I think that will be the biggest adjustment for the players.

How about cap space? Money is really the one factor that isn't visible from the outside. Like when people say TD didn't want to sign players that were good. Maybe he was told he couldn't. maybe RW was tired of shelling out Polian/Bulter money. I don't think TD did a great job, as his record suggests, but I think the team is in a lot better shape than it was in 2001. The defense has some hope to be solid and I have to think that the offense will be better also. I hope that Jaron and Fairchild will work well together and Fairchild quickly realizes he ain't in no dome no mo'/

How about if the proposed starters learn how to score and stop opponents from scoring? Then we can worry about what the young players can do. The development of non-starters is hardly a luxury this team can afford.

Do you get a certain number of sick days in your line of work? Do you take all of them? I don't. There's a feeling of obligation that if I can work I will. So yes, I have the opportunity to take advantage of the system but I don't. I think most people have that mindset. If they didn't nothing would ever get done. If you want to skip work all the time, you're not doing something you enjoy. Sucks for you. There are certain qualities I would like in team leaders. One is presence. It really helps if you're trying to build a championship team. There is a new offensive scheme, a new coaching staff and no "starter" at qb. If McGahee would be there as a team leader he just might get his raise. It's already been mentioned here that he's the top playmaker on a poor offense. That makes him the first candidate, but he seems to be turning the opportunity down. From everything I've heard from Marv, I would be shocked if he got an extension. Let the national media yap all they want. If you don't want to make the commitment then don't expect the cash.

Amen. When Mularkey was announced as the next coach, I shook my head. At the time, people in Pittsburgh were ready to run him out of town anyway. Last season he showed you why - ineffective, ineffective ineffective. The best example was the Houston game. 5 field goals against a bad team with a short field provided by the defense. JP's best plays were with his feet. He couldn't get the team moving, even with the incredibly short fields the defense was able to give him. So they give Houston a chance by not converting for touchdown's. You will see how much potential JP has this year because a new regime is not afraid of dumping former high drafts picks they had nothing to do with. I don't think they have a replacement for his roster spot this year but he could be dumped next post season if the effort isn't there or he doesn't progress enough. I think Holcombe may start the season especially if the oline isn't solid. JP or Nall may come in a few games into the season if Holcombe isn't winning. One thing about the Stewart-O'Donnell thing and Donahoe's involvement from a couple of posts ago. The Steelers as an organization don't pay too much for their players and they were not going to match the contract the Jets gave him. There was no desire to keep him at that price, although if I remember correctly they did put a prety good offer out there for him. Donahoe also had trouble picking olineman - he brought Kris Farris with him to Buffalo - just one of his quality picks. I think that's really what's killing this team now.