Commentary
Allow success or failure to be test of Steelers’ 2002 draft PITTSBURGH – For those who crave pointlessness, letter grades are out for the just-completed NFL draft.
Most of the outlets that engage in this foolishness seem to have the Steelers somewhere between a B-minus and C.
What these grades are based on is anyone’s guess.
This isn’t quite as silly as assigning letter grades to college recruiting classes but it is close.
The jump from college ball to the NFL is huge, even for players who came from big-time programs. Just look at Plaxico Burress to see how much of an adjustment has to be made.
Picking 30th, the Steelers went for depth and long-range considerations rather than instant starters. They wanted an offensive lineman as a hedge against the possible 2003 departures of either Alan Faneca or Wayne Gandy. They wanted an inside receiver to fill the role that Bobby Shaw had before he departed for Jacksonville as a free agent.
So the Steelers may have gotten exactly what they needed in the early rounds. If they did, it was a successful draft.
But are the people issuing grades looking at it that way?
Ask your favorite grader if he projected a long, successful NFL career for Darren Perry on the day that Perry was chosen in the late rounds by the Steelers.
Ask him if he foresaw Donnie Shell as a possible Hall of Famer when the Steelers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1974.
The players selected haven’t even been issued a playbook yet or measured for a helmet.
Who knows what kind of pros they’ll be? Who knows if one of them will decide this is too tough and steal away from training camp in the middle of the night? Who knows if one of them will play in half a dozen Pro Bowls? Everyone loves their choices on draft day or they wouldn’t have made the picks.
The Steelers once thought Jamain Stephens was the answer to something.
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It is becoming increasingly apparent that the Penguins will have a very tough fight on their hands to get public funding for a new arena.
Recently former Allegheny County Commissioner Bob Cranmer wrote an opinion piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggesting that funding an arena was a bad idea.
Cranmer made some good points, one of which was that hockey economics are so out of whack, the chances of success in a market the size of Pittsburgh are slim.
The same thing could have been said about baseball, yet government proceeded with its plans to build the Pirates a new park.
Cranmer is technically a private citizen these days but most people think he’s on the verge of relaunching a political career.
What’s more popular than saying no public funds for playgrounds used by millionaire athletes?
The gravy train pulled out about five years ago and the Penguins missed it. Things are different now and budgets are tapped out.
The best plan the Penguins could present is one that’s heavy with private investment.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen, though.
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Tuesday afternoon the Pirates’ clubhouse was thick with TV cameras and TV reporters who rarely find their way to a baseball game.
“Front runners,” one player grumbled.
OK, but isn’t it better to have them there than to slog through another losing season that draws no interest?
The players ought to hope they’re feeling crowded all season.
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In 1998 Pirates third baseman Aramis Ramirez threw his helmet at Montreal pitcher Javier Vasquez. He was suspended for five games.
Last week, Ramirez threw his helmet at Milwaukee pitcher Ben Sheets. He was suspended for seven games.
Ramirez either needs more self-control or a helmet with a chinstrap.
John Mehno can be reached at: jmehno@timesnet.net