Steelers notebook
Former teammates shocked by Seigler’s arrest in Vegas PITTSBURGH – James Farrior’s T-shirt said “Free Sleezy.”
It had nothing to do with his old pal J. Peezy.
“Sleezy!” Farrior emphasized. “Rich Seigler. That’s his nickname.”
Farrior said it’s not a new nickname.
“We called him that before we even found out what happened to him.”
Seigler, of course, was cut from the team Thursday, hours before police arrested him on three prostitution-related charges, including pandering and living from the earnings of a prostitute in Las Vegas. In other words, he’s charged with being a pimp.
“Nobody knew,” Farrior said of his backup in two games last season. “He always used to walk around saying, ‘Yeah, I’ve got all these girls.’ We just thought he was bragging about himself, but I guess he really did. I was shocked. I thought he was always playing.”
Farrior’s stance on the matter appears to be a one-man crusade.
“I’m not wearing the shirt,” said defensive end Brett Keisel. “You reap what you sow.”
Did Keisel know about Seigler’s, um, ladies?
“No one ever believed him because you never saw him around any girls, you never saw any girls with him,” Keisel said. “I heard it on the radio coming in this morning and it shocked the heck out of me. But when you think about it, he used to go around here saying what a big hit he was with the ladies, so I guess it’s true.”
The quiet one
Troy Polamalu is in the same situation as Alan Faneca: Both are entering the final years of their contracts.
Polamalu, however, is handling his negotiations a bit differently.
“I haven’t paid any attention to my situation at all,” he said. “I haven’t talked money with anybody. I want to be here. I’m sure something is going to be worked out before the beginning of the season. Time will tell.”
Is Polamalu troubled by the coaching transition and the seeming turbulence that’s surrounding the team right now?
“I think it’s troublesome, but I think it’s good,” he said. “I think it’s good that everything is really shaken up and everybody’s got to re-work and re-establish themselves. It’s a good thing, and I think it is natural that whenever a new coach comes in you have to do this. I had to deal with it in college. We were all very wary about Coach (Pete) Carroll and what was going to come about. Obviously, everything turned out pretty well for him and hopefully the same for Coach (Mike) Tomlin.”
Barlow on the cheap
Former Pitt star Kevan Barlow entered the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 2001 and rushed for 1,024 yards in 2003. But his career nosedived and the Steelers signed him off the scrapheap this week for a minimum-wage salary and $40,000 bonus. He was released by the New York Jets last season after rushing for 370 yards and starting only three games.
“It was best for me to get out of there. I asked for my release,” Barlow said. “I just didn’t feel like the offense fit me. And plus, I got a late start there. I got traded a week before the season, even after (49ers Coach) Mike Nolan gave me the word that he wasn’t going to trade me two days before that. He pulled me aside and said, ‘Kevan, I’m not trading you.’ And he traded me anyway.
“But that’s behind me. I got traded a week before the season, another offensive coordinator, I had to learn that whole offense, I had to get a feel for my offensive linemen, and then being stable. Now I’m here. I’ve got a head start. I can learn the offense and I can go into the season in stride. In New York, it wasn’t like that. I had a lot of nick-nack injuries – hamstring pull, jammed my neck up, sprains. It wasn’t my year. Last year was not my year. I must’ve done something to somebody. Now I’ve got a fresh start.”
The 28-year-old was asked how his body is holding up.
“I’m young. I ain’t got no tread on the tires,” he said. “I ain’t really carried the ball that much. We were in situations that we were down and didn’t have to run the ball for the most part so I really didn’t have to carry the ball. My body feels good, the best it’s felt since 2004. I feel good physically. I feel good mentally. It feels good to get a fresh start.”
Injury report
The Steelers’ top two draft picks, Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley, missed the afternoon practice with minor injuries. Timmons went through the pre-practice drills in the morning before sitting out the rest of the day with a groin injury. Woodley made it through most of the first practice before sitting with an injured hamstring.
“It’s typical, rookies trying to make a first impression, probably trying too hard,” said Tomlin. “Don’t know the extent of those injuries, probably minor, but they will limit those guys the rest of this weekend. Also, Santonio Holmes fell down on his shoulder that created some discomfort for him. He fought through it and came back this afternoon.”
Tomlin’s take on the two practices?
“We probably took a step back from where we finished out last minicamp, but that happens when you have some time off,” he said. “We challenged them as the first practice went on, and they came back and executed with more detail in the afternoon. But the energy, the enthusiasm was real good. I complimented the guys on their level of communication, and that’s big this time of year, because if you’re talking that shows some level of understanding. We’re in the business of teaching right now, and that’s going well.”
X’s and O’s
Here are some of the positioning notes: Chukky Okobi ran first-team center, followed in order by Sean Mahan and Marvin Philip, with Kendall Simmons receiving work only in 7-on-7 drills; the first team offense opened with two tight ends and two wide receivers, of which Holmes teamed with Hines Ward; Ryan Clark was the first-team free safety and Deshea Townsend was the first-team right cornerback; the second-team offensive line consisted of (from left to right) Trai Essex, Chris Kemoeatu, Mahan, Philip and Willie Colon; IUP’s Jason Capizzi was the third-team left tackle, pushing Brandon Torrey to the right side, with the Rutgers rookies playing the guard spots.
The play of the day was made by outside linebacker James Harrison, who dropped back into the intermediate zone along the sideline and jumped to intercept a Bryan Randall pass. Harrison returned it for a touchdown.
Quotable
Hines Ward on the make-up of the locker room: “It’s different now. There’s no question this locker room is totally different. You lose a guy, a locker-room favorite in Joey (Porter). Just not having Joey out on that field is different. It’s just a different field. You talk about veteran guys. You can’t put a value on leadership and being a veteran. I mean Alan, he’s the first guy to get here, the last guy to leave. He works as hard as anybody on this team. He’s paid his dues, put in his time. He’s a productive ballplayer. If he’s upset, wow. But at the same time, he’s being a professional. He’s here. He’s showing up.”