View topic - Season starts today - no more Contracts done.

[thesteelhammer Profile]

Bad news for next off-season

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08251/910110-66.stm?cmpid=steelers.xml

Ed Bouchette on the Steelers: Team likely to rue offseason
A weekly look inside the team, the issues & the questions
Sunday, September 07, 2008
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The start of the regular season today means the end to another negotiating season for contract extensions with the Steelers.

The final tally: Ben Roethlisberger and James Farrior extended; Marvel Smith, Chris Kemoeatu, Bryant McFadden, Trai Essex, Max Starks, Nate Washington and Charlie Batch among those who enter their final seasons under contract and can become unrestricted free agents if they do not sign before Feb. 27. Add Byron Leftwich to that group and Willie Colon would become a restricted free agent.

The Steelers have done a decent job through the years at re-signing the veterans they wanted to keep and knowing when to release or let players leave as free agents when their best football was behind them and a younger talent pushing them. A perfect example of it came last year when they released linebacker Joey Porter and elevated James Harrison to replace him. Porter had a down season in Miami and Harrison made the Pro Bowl and earned his team's MVP.

In other cases, such as Alan Faneca's, they took a chance on a younger player even though the veteran still was at the top of his game because the price was too steep.

Roethlisberger's large contract precluded the Steelers from doing much else this year, and the $7 million mistake they made with Max Starks compounded it.

The obvious concern looking at the possible free agents is that they will be left with a large hole in their offensive line. Smith almost surely will leave as a free agent. If Kemoeatu has a big year at left guard, he too likely will leave because they won't be able to afford him. That's their left side. Essex or Starks might be able to play left tackle for them but, of course, one of them would have to re-sign. The option if Kemoeatu leaves might be Darnell Stapleton, his backup who would enter his third season.
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Wasted cap room
The Steelers paid Sean Mahan a $4 million signing bonus last year and a $650,000 salary and gave up on him after one year. They'll pay Max Starks $7 million this year to be a backup tackle.

Is that the best use of the salary cap? In Mahan's case, it was bad planning. Jeff Hartings retired and it was determined by the new coaching staff that Chukky Okobi wasn't the answer, so they had to scramble for a center. Mahan was available even though he, too, turned out not to be the answer.

Starks was a mistake, not to keep him but to guarantee him that much. They might have been better off making him a reasonable, long-term contract offer before he became a free agent than to guarantee him $7 million this year and thus guaranteeing he would not do a long-term contract -- until perhaps next year.

Humpal is back
The Steelers announced they had waived rookie linebacker Mike Humpal, a sixth-round draft choice, last week. But he's back on their team and likely will stay there the entire season.

Humpal was waived injured and when no other team claimed him, he reverted back to the Steelers on their injured reserve list. If his were a short-term injury, the Steelers would be forced to release him when it healed. However, Humpal missed most of training camp with what were described as "stingers" and doctors are still trying to determine their cause.

"Stingers" caused Marvel Smith to miss all but six games of the 2003 season.

Rookie safety Ryan Mundy, on the other hand, reached an injury settlement and then was waived and is eligible to sign with any other team. If he does not, the Steelers could re-sign him around midseason under NFL rules.

[Nel Profile]

Bad news for next off-season

The Stillers are going for a championship this year and for some rebuilding next year(s), IMHO.

[indysteel Profile]

Let's call it what it is.....simply bad planning.

The front office is truly in a pickle......while it is a ways off, it will be somewhat interesting to see how this all unfolds.

Here's a theory:

Given the pending change of ownership --- why spend the $$?? Let the next guy come in and spend lavishly on FAs and / or signing this deep list of UFAs. After all, who recaulks the bathtub when you know your going to sell??