Ask Ed: What Punishment for Pats?

Good morning,

Today, we turned things over to your questions in Ask Ed:

--- YOU: This is pretty straight. If Belichick is found to have cheated again with deflated balls do you think he should be suspended and at what duration?

ED: They should lose another first-round draft pick, be heavily fined (fines are not much of a deterrent but, what the heck, the charities can use them) and Bill Belichick should be suspended for three or four games. I’ll go one better – if Tom Brady is found to be behind it, he should be suspended for a game or two as well.

--- YOU: To me, the recently completed investigation into whether or not someone in the league office saw the Ray Rice elevator video was off track. Shouldn't the investigation have focused on the preferential treatment given to Rice and the Ravens, and why? His handling of this situation appears to be strong evidence the Commissioner is not equitable in his league dealings and shouldn't that be the primary concern of the other 31 owners and the focal point of the investigation?

--- ED: Roger Goodell admitted he erred when he suspended Rice for only two games. There was an immediate backlash. I don’t know if it was preferential treatment but it certainly was less than what he gave Ben Roethlisberger, who was never charged with a crime.

--- YOU: You suggested that Timmons might be an acceptable fallback for OLB next year. If James Harrison's 2010 season's performance is the standard by which to measure OLB performance (call it a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10), if Timmons and Worilds deliver their max potential, where do they top out on this scale?

ED: I think Lawrence Timmons could be a good outside linebacker if he were allowed to concentrate on that job. He has the size, quickness and maturity to do it.

--- YOU: What do you see happening with some of the more down the radar unrestricted free agents like Will Allen, DHB, and Matt Spaeth? Can the kid from Army fill Spaeth's role?

ED: Allen, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Spaeth have to be on the back-burner for them, not important re-signings but possible after the dust clears in free agency and the draft. Alejandro Villanueva – the kid from Army – was recently re-signed after he spent the season on their practice squad. He’s an intriguing player with his size, 6-9, 277, and has played multiple positions including tight end in the past. The Steelers had him at tackle. I’m eager to see him in training camp and how they use him and it would not be out of the realm that he would move to tight end. I would not count on him right now to be Spaeth’s replacement, though.

--- YOU: Curious what aspect of being the Steelers' beat writer you enjoy most and what is your least favorite part of the assignment? How much has social media changed your day to day?

ED: Without turning this into a term paper, I enjoy most of it, really, including the gathering of information/interviews and the writing. Most any one in my business will tell you the most tedious part is going back and transcribing an interview you just did. But it’s not like it’s back-breaking – you won’t get black lung from doing it. I think, for the most part, I’ve embraced some of the social media, including my Tweets, chats and blogs. I am not on Facebook and do not plan to join because that is TMI. I also enjoy the videos we do for our web site. Twenty years ago, all I had to do was sit down and right a story for the next day’s paper. No more.

--- YOU: I saw Art's comment today about Bell's potential suspension. A lot of comments have been posted about the Steelers hopefully opening the season with a weak opponent while/if Bell is suspended. However, given the Steelers play both the Seahawks and the Patriots on the road next year, I feel there is a strong possibility they hit the road for the Thursday night opener in week 1. I was wondering what you think the chances are of: 1) A Bell suspension and 2) The Steelers hit the road for the Thursday night opener?

ED: Le’Veon Bell probably will get a suspension, otherwise the next player who gets a DUI and is suspended will have a case that there was preferential treatment. There would be a better chance for the Steelers to be the opening day opponent of the Patriots if they win than it would be the NFC’s Seahawks if they do.

--- YOU: Am I wrong that 11 of 12 balls being deflated is a real smoking gun--since you need one to kick with, and it's better to have that one be fully inflated? Shows intent...

ED: The NFL made kicking balls – K balls as they are called – separate from the balls used on offense a while back. All 12 balls have now been found to be underinflated, according to one report.

--- YOU: Shouldn't you watch the Pro Bowl? It's all throw and catch, no hitting, no kickoffs. Watching it would be good preparation for what the NFL wants to turn the regular season into over the next few years, wouldn't it? All it's missing is the flags in the quarterbacks' pockets.

ED: I think I have to do my nails that night.

--- YOU: If he can’t resurrect his career as a corner, do you think Cortez Allen has any future at strong safety? It strikes me that his skills might be better suited for that position.

ED: Maybe, I’ve never asked anyone. Maybe he could play tight end.

--- YOU: Noting that Steelers drafted 2 cornerbacks in 2011 (rounds 3 and 4) and Richard Sherman was a 5th round pick --I know other teams missed on him also but we missed twice- and since we seem to be missing too often, what kind of intra-organizational analysis do you think Art Rooney creates. Is it our scouting? Wouldn't you want to evaluate the choices of all giving input rather than what was the consensus?

ED: You cannot pick out one or two draft choices and change everything you do because of it. As you mentioned, the entire league missed on Sherman for more than four rounds. He would be a first-round pick today based on what he’s done.

--- YOU: One of the criticisms of LeBeau's defensive schemes is how "complex" they are and how much time it took for new players to learn to play the schemes. Reality or myth (aka excuse making)?

ED: Part reality, party myth. Most NFL schemes are difficult for rookies to pick up because they are more complicated than what they were used to playing in college. If the Steelers were the only complicated defense in the NFL, then something would be wrong either with what they were doing or why the rest of the league wasn’t doing it. I would say that in the mid-1990s, when they first began running it, the Steelers defense was unique. I don’t think it is anymore. What people tend to forget – and I’ve been trying to remind them, really I have – is that the biggest reason rookies could not crack the defense for the past dozen years or so is because of all that talent that was in front of them.