What Steelers have NOT said: 'We Want Troy Back'

Good morning,

Some short stuff and then on to a really long Ask Ed session as we clean up your questions in our only appearance this week (in the middle of a staycation). There will be a chat at 1:30 today:

--- Points have been made that the Steelers should wait until August or so to sign James Harrison so as to not tucker him out by making him practice in the spring and through training camp. But Mike Tomlin controls that. He can tell his 37-year-old linebacker to watch practice during the spring and also for most of training camp.

--- The value of having Harrison on their team can be seen right now in Arizona, where he convinced four young Steelers linebackers to join him in his offseason workouts: Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier, Vince Williams and Sean Spence. That kind of mentoring is invaluable and something their coach, Joey Porter, is not even permitted to do yet.

--- The Steelers have not said Troy Polamalu is not in their plans but they have implied it in so many ways. What they have not said is that they want Polamalu back, mainly because they do not.

--- So there will be “open” competition at right outside linebacker? This from a team that started Jarvis Jones in his rookie opener over Jason Worilds because, as one coach later told me, it was “politics” after drafting him in the first round. That “open” competition remark by Kevin Colbert also may have been used to try to light a fire under Jones.

--- And now, Ask Ed:

--- YOU: I was a little taken aback at Colbert’s suggestion that Worilds wasn't even in their plans for 2015. I understand the dollars, and I think he's a good player, not great, but to say he wasn't even in their plans? The Steelers aren't exactly stacked at pass rushers/OLB's. What happened to the "Worilds is ascending" rhetoric we heard right after the season? What are your thoughts?

ED: It is not hard to believe that Kevin Colbert said the other day that Jason Worilds was not in the Steelers’ plans. It would have been more interesting had he said it in February. It also is curious why they did not at least have a free agent linebacker or two into town for visits, to “kick the tires,’’ as they said they did with the two cornerbacks.

--- YOU: While I think the Steelers still need to address OLB early in the draft, a triumvirate of Jones, Harrison and Moats is not bad. How do you think the Steelers will rotate, and pending the training camp competition, what’s your best guess as to who starts where?

ED: I would be surprised if either Jarvis Jones or Harrison were put on the left side, which leaves Arthur Moats over there. Unless Jones plays up to his draft position, I could see a rotation with him and Harrison on the right side. Remember that Shawn Lemon, the kid with 13 sacks and eight forced fumbles in the CFL last season, also is in the mix, as could be a draft pick and Howard Jones.

--- YOU: Great points about Ben's contract, but I just wanted to offer this: the best NFL team of the past two seasons has been the Seattle Seahawks. A big reason (but not the only one admittedly) is that they had a great quarterback, like Ben, but only had to pay him a small amount. His original rookie deal was pretty low since Russell Wilson was a third round pick and it allowed the Seahawks to build a better and complete roster. Ben, Flacco, Rodgers and the rest of them all make it harder to do that because of their big contracts.

ED: Excuse me, but who won this year’s Super Bowl? Don’t you have to win that to be declared the best team in the NFL? It is why I always disagreed that the 1976 Steelers team was their best, with all due respect to The Chief. Having said that, you do have a good point with Wilson. My point was, the others who pay their quarerbacks big money have kept their teams on a high level for the most part. When the cream rises to the top, it usually has a good to great quarterback leading the way, whether he’s getting paid big money or not.

--- YOU: Steelers have not had much success recently when trying to draft or sign college free agent pass rushing outside linebackers. Names like Steven Conley and Chris Carter come to mind. Good players they drafted at same position like Joey Porter and Jason Gildon were third round picks, Greg Lloyd was a sixth round pick and Lamar Woodley was a second round pick. Do you feel with more teams than before playing a 3-4 defense that is forcing teams like the Steelers to draft players at this position in the more higher rounds/first round than before ? Seems in this years draft, analysts are predicting a run on about at least four to possibly five players at that position who will be drafted in the first round.

ED: Back in the days when the Steelers were either one of a few or the only defense running the 3-4, they had their pick of the “tweeners,’’ those undersized college defensive ends who could not play in a 4-3 in the pros. The Steelers would evaluate and project them as outside linebacker in the 3-4 and get them for bargains and give them time to grow into the new position. Now, as you mention, so many teams play the 3-4 that everyone is looking for those types of “tweeners.’’ It is a big reason the Steelers drafted Jarvis Jones in the first round in 2013.

--- YOU: Thanks for the great reporting over the years. A quick question for you. With all the talk of needing depth in the defensive backfield, why doesn’t Ross Ventrone’s name ever enter the conversations? He seemed to be an effective special teams gunner with plenty of speed and strong tackling.

ED: He will get his chance but has not been mentioned much because he has not played the position much with the Steelers.

--- YOU: Unless something drastic happens in the first 21 picks of the draft, it's pretty much a sure thing that the Steelers will select a CB or OLB. My question is: Picking in the 22nd position of the draft, would the Steelers get a NFL ready player or would he more likely need to be developed for the first year.

ED: That depends on the player. The Cleveland Browns thought they were getting an NFL-ready starter when they picked cornerback Justin Gilbert eighth overall last year and it did not turn out that way. Likewise, the Steelers may have thought they had an immediate starter when they picked Jarvis Jones first in 2013.

--- YOU: Seeing on several websites that Bell's suspension could be for more than the two games anticipated, they claim the CBA 2-gamer is for alcolhol related legal issues, Bell more likely to be 4 games. Can you provide clarification and (hopefully) "say it ain't so"?

ED: The Steelers believe it will be no more than two games.

--- YOU: Do the Pats get a pass for deflategate? (no pun intended)

ED: I think nothing will happen to them.

--- YOU: There was a good question in Gerry’s chat that I don’t think he really answered. Why do you think the Steelers restructured contracts if they don’t seem intent on using the cap space in the near future? Just like they have the patience to wait on Troy, they could have the same patience to restructure if the cap space was needed (for this or carry forward to next year).

ED: They probably did it so they could have some flexibility and, believe it or not, so they would not have to cut Troy Polamalu right away. Maybe, contrary to what Kevin Colbert said, they did think they had at least a small chance of re-signing Worilds – or another linebacker, or a cornerback. At least they would have had the money. Plus, restrcturing contracts does not have the same effect it might have had before the 2011 CBA was signed.

This thinking that they are “kicking the can” down the line and into the future by redoing contracts is old thinking. Teams are now permitted to carry over cap space from one season to another. Let’s put it in simple form: Say the Steelers restructure a player to save $5 million in salary cap room this year but it adds $2.5 million in each of the next two years. If they do not use that cap room this year, then it carries over into the next and, consequently if they do not use it then, into the next. It’s like getting a loan for 0 percent. You can take that money and use it now, or you can take it just in case you need it and if you don’t, you can use it to pay off the loan tomorrow.

--- YOU: I guess I've missed this--both in the commentary and in my own mind--but Does Troy lend himself to being the elusive rush linebacker the Steelers are missing?

ED: No.

--- YOU: I’ve often read that Dan McCullers’ value is diminished because he needs to come off the field in passing situations. Ndamukong Suh’s recent signing was accompanied by much praise for, among many other things, his ability to generate inside pressure against the pass, since it is hard for a QB to throw when his center has been dumped in his lap. But last year I saw McCullers generate exactly that type of pressure several times despite his very limited snap count. Great when Suh does it, not when MCCullers does it? What gives??

ED: Suh was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. McCullers was selected in the sixth round. Suh has proven to be a force in the defensive line. McCullers enters his second season after getting a taste of action as a rookie. He will get his chance to show he can be effective; the Steelers will not place limits on him.

--- YOU: What information do the Steelers look to BLESTO to provide, as opposed to what they get from their own scouts? Do BLESTO and The National provide pretty much the same information? And, finally, do you know if the Steelers' approach to using scouting services is comparable to that of other NFL teams.

ED: The most important thing BLESTO and National scouting services provide is information on underclassmen for the following year’s draft. They do the basics and then each team’s scouting staff polishes it up with second and third looks, etc. I often thought it was all overkill, especially with the advent of digital video, etc. A player is evaluated on the field for his entire college career, then evaluated in post-season all-star games, then evaluated at the Indianapolis combine, then evaluated at his Pro Day and then many more are evaluated one more time when they pay a visit to NFL teams in the month before the draft.