Commentary
Getting a handle on Steelers’ players LATROBE – These are the thoughts of a sportswriter who’s starting to get a handle on the 85 players hoping to become part of a run for the Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers:
l Are we being a bit presumptuous in saying that those who make the team will make a run for the Super Bowl? Absolutely not. The roster is loaded. As one team official said, they are a great quarterback away from winning three consecutive Super Bowls.
l A slap at Kordell Stewart? Again, absolutely not. No one ever said he was Troy Aikman. He’s not the most accurate passer, but Stewart is arguably the offense’s most explosive player. Not every team can have an Aikman. The comment was meant more as a compliment to the balance and great depth of the team from top to bottom.
l Is Stewart the teams most dangerous offensive player? For my money, that designation belongs to Plaxico Burress. Sure Hines Ward caught more passes last year, is a better blocker, worker and leader, and we all know about Jerome Bettis’ career, but right here, right now, Burress is the most feared player on offense. Only fans of Stewart can make similar claims.
l That being said, Burress also has the potential to be the team’s most divisive player. His slow walks back to the huddle or wherever he and the team are headed on the practice fields here, are tough for us old-school folk to stomach. Tuesday afternoon, after the second practice, Burress simply lay on the ground while the rest of the team stretched during the cool-down. But no one else seems to care. Ward the Warrior still buddies up to him and the coaches allow Burress to be the individual he desperately needs to be. From what I understand, there are no team rules in this regard.
l Any long-time parent will tell you that by allowing this to continue, Cowher is only making matters worse.
l As they say, though, it’s all good – for now.
l Cowher did show contempt in reporting Kendrell Bell’s injury. Bell strained a trapezius muscle lifting weights the other day. Apparently, he was lifting too much weight with an exercise that’s not in the Steelers’ manual. Maybe Bell ought to start dogging it to get the coach off his back.
l Don’t worry about the first two draft picks. Kendall Simmons is a bona fide player; Antwaan Randle El looks like he could be a superstar. Both will see a lot of time this year. In fact, the whispers surrounding both players at this camp have gone beyond the buzz stage. Steelers’ officials are downright giddy with both of them.
l Third-round pick Chris Hope hasn’t shown much more than a hellacious body yet. Fourth-round pick Larry Foote, on the other hand, is showing that he’s a quality football player. Fifth-round pick Verron Haynes isn’t receiving many reps, but he’s showing great footwork and soft hands during individual drills.
l Lee Mays, the sixth-round pick, really fills out that No. 89, worn the last five years by Will Blackwell. Mays would appear to be a lock to make the roster, but there’s still the question about him getting popped for the first time. After all, he played in that cheesy Western Athletic Conference, and that’s a legitimate concern for scouts waiting to see Mays handle physical play. But wasn’t the great Brian Urlacher a safety in the WAC when Mays played?
l Note to self – ask Mays if he’s ever been hit by Urlacher.
l Speaking of the wide receivers, the position will be the toughest to cut. Troy Edwards is a playmaker and the rule is Don’t Cut the Playmakers. Lenzie Jackson is a special teams player and Terance Mathis is not. Could it be that Mathis gets cut? The phenomenal showing of Randle El was unexpected, thus Mathis, who’s playing some very fine ball, could be the one to go because of his lack of versatility. Wow.
l Unless, of course, Cowher chooses to cut Mays in lieu of Mathis because of leadership. But that kind of thinking backfired horribly two years ago when Cowher kept Courtney Hawkins over Danny Farmer.
l The Steelers can’t get over their good fortune in drafting Randle El the second round. The guy they had their eye on, safety Michael Lewis, was snapped up by Philadelphia four picks earlier. Their next option – Ryan Denney, the guy the Steelers had listed on their card – was snapped up by Tom Donahoe and Buffalo a pick earlier. It could be that the Steelers settled for another Rookie of the Year.
At least he’s my early favorite.
Jim Wexell is the Herald-Standard Steelers correspondent.