Worilds Passed On Steelers Offer

Good morning and TGIT, yes, Thursday. I have off tomorrow. Let’s do this:

--- Turns out, the Steelers made Jason Worilds a multi-year contract offer awhile ago, sources say. His side did not accept it. I have no idea what that offer was, but I am told that offer stands and they will go no higher, that he either takes it or plays this season for the $9.7 million one-year deal he signed as their transition player.

--- A little more than a year ago, I heard that the Steelers did not make a big play to keep Keenan Lewis because they thought Cortez Allen was better. So what’s the reason now for not at least making Allen a multi-year contract offer? Perhaps they no longer hold their previous opinion?

--- If Allen has a Keenan Lewis-like final contract year, the Steelers may not be able to re-sign him. If he has a poor season, they may not want to re-sign him. So where would that leave them at cornerback in 2015? As we say, there is a lot of football to be played between now and then but assuming Ike Taylor is in his final year, it would leave them with William Gay, Shaq Richardson, Antwon Blake and Isaiah Green.

--- Rod Woodson, who was a coaching intern for the Steelers last spring and summer, is doing likewise with the Denver Broncos now.

--- Let us celebrate the final session of the awkwardly labeled OTAs. Next week, we can call it minicamp because that is what they call it and it is required of all players unless excused. In other words, Troy Polamalu might even show up.

--- Onto a few queries for Ask Ed:

--- YOU: What’s the difference between QB pressures and QB hurries? A story in the Pittsburgh paper that caters to wingnuts said Jarvis Jones led the team in QB hurries a year ago, while your story today said Heyward led the team in 2013 with 29 QB pressures.

ED: I’ve asked that question of coaches and never could get a proper answer other than, I believe they mean the same. The Steelers used to keep stats -- provided by their coaches after watching video – on both quarterback pressures AND hurries as separate categories. Now, they list them all under QP or pressures in their defensive stats, although in a game-by-game breakdown provided to us, they call them quarterback “hurries/pressures.’’ I can assure you that Jarvis Jones did not lead them in anything last season. The coaches had him down for 11 QP, tied for fifth on defense. They had Cam Heyward with 31, Jason Worilds with 29, Brett Keisel with 26.

--- YOU: My query today involves the Steelers “Dime a Dozen” theory. We have heard this for years about the WR’s. Does the team perhaps take the same approach to CB’s? No 1st round pick since 1997, lower picks starting there for years—is this a prudent approach for a team that has had trouble generating turnovers for a couple of years? The WR’s have at least been very productive despite their draft status. As always, thanks for all the great B& G info!

ED: Judging by the draft, you would think they thought of cornerbacks as a nickel a dozen. To draft what you think is a great cornerback, you usually have to get one in the top 15 of the first round and they rarely have been that high and when they were, they grabbed a quarterback. Rod Woodson went to them as the 10-th player overall and they were fortunate he fell that far. Chad Scott was their last first-round draft pick at the position at No. 24 overall in 1997. They have not had a Pro Bowl cornerback since Rod Woodson made it for the 1996 season, the longest drought of any position for them. Somehow, though, they won two Super Bowls and went to a third with what they had. I do not believe they think less of the position, just that they’ve only been adequate in filling it.