State of the Steelers: The Offseason

Well, the Saints won the Super Bowl. And Manning came up short once again.....I picked the Saints to win because of their defense. Turns out that their defense ended up securing the New Orleans 1st Super Bowl.

And then, somehow the Colts are once again the favorites to win the Super Bowl next year. Well, Vegas gave them 13/2 odds of winning it. I can see why....they return pretty much every starter, and their young defense should only get better. Also, the Colts always do a good job of identifying players that excel within their system.

But enough about the Super Bowl and Manning's choke. Let us move on to the Steelers.

They followed up their Super Bowl winning season with once again a disappointing season. It killed Steeler Nation all year to lose Cincinatti twice.....not to mention losing to Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland. The Steelers finished the season strong, but failed to make the playoffs. Their were disappointments on both sides of the ball all year. Losing Aaron Smith and Troy Polamalu on defense really hurt. Ben not playing in Baltimore really hurt. Overall though, this team beat themselves this year.

The Steelers have already made some personnel decisions. Quarterback coach Ken Anderson retired after 44 years in the NFL. Offensive line coach Lance Zierlein and special teams coach Bob Ligashesky were both released. In addition, the Steelers moved Wide receiver coach Randy Fichtner to quarterback coach. The Steelers then signed offensive line coach Sean Kugler and special teams coach Al Everest to fill the voids left. The only position coach that has yet to be addressed is wide receivers coach.....and I have no idea who they might be interested in.

The Steelers also have a good deal of players that are set to become free agents as of March 5th. That lists includes starters such as Casey Hampton, Ryan Clark, and Jeff Reed. They also have other free agents such as Willie Parker, Nick Eason Travis Kirschke, not to mention restricted free agents in Willie Colon, William Gay, Daniel Sepulveda, Matt Spaeth, and Darnell Stapleton. Art Rooney II has publicly said that the offseason negotiations will start with Hampton. Therefore, the key to the offseason is whether the Steelers can resign Big Snack after another Pro Bowl caliber year. Resigning Hampton is the key to the offseason. IF they can get a deal done, the Steelers can avoid drafting their NT of the future until later in this draft or another draft entirely. If not, it becomes a huge need in a small free agent class. Reed and Clark are the next big resigns. Reed is clutch and Clark becomes a good FS when Troy Polamalu is healthy. I also think Nick Eason deserves a contract. He proved this year that he can be a decent starter in a stop gap situation, as well as being a more than decent wave player.

After resigning those key free agents, finding a #2 CB is a must. I am terrified that the Steelers may go into next season with William Gay or Deshea Townsend(who I don't see the Steelers resigning) starting at CB. Teams picked on them all year long. Either Keenan Lewis needs to step up and become the player the Steelers need him to be or they need to address it free agency or the draft. Given the weak DB free agents this year, my bet is that the draft will be the Steelers solution.

Other notes on the year:

• ILB James Farrior clearly lost a step as the season progressed. Getting a replacement for him down the road is a real need now.
• OLB James Harrison got hurt later in the year with a torn bicep, and clearly wasn't the dominate the player he was a year ago. Depth is a must.
• Depth at safety is must to address this offseason. In a very deep and talented class of safeties, I expect the Steelers to at least one.....if not two.
• This offense showed flashes of being downright unstoppable. If the Steelers can capitalize....wow.

Players who I think are going to surprise next year:

• OLB LaMarr Woodley- We all know that Woodley is a very good OLB. This year I think he gives the NFL a run for their money and has at least 16 sacks.
• WR Limas Sweed- I think the light will finally turn on and he will really open up the Steelers already dangerous offense.
• RB Reshard Mendenhall- Mendenhall got over 1000 yards last season in only 12 games. Imagine what he can do with another four.......
• The Steelers 1st Round Draft Pick- Rooney said himself he wants the rookies to develop faster. I think that draft pick comes in right away and has a defined role on the team.