Grant Ressel

The Steelers had a great draft and signed a decent group of undrafted free agents. With that all the attention is focused on the bigger name talents, but one person that isn't getting noticed is Missouri kicker Grant Ressel.

Ressel was a walk-on at Mizzou in 2007. After becaming the full time kicker in 2009, he was named a 1st Team All-American after setting an NCAA record with a combined accuracy (98.5%). In his Sophomore year he mad 26 of 27 field goals and was 39 for 39 on PATs. In 2010, Ressel hit 17 of 19 field goals and 45 of 47 PATs. He had a down year as a Senior, connecting on 9 of 16 field goals and 30 of 30 PATs.

He finished his career as a very decorated kicker. We was a 1st Team All-American and 1st Team All-Big 12 member in 2009. And was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2009 and 2010.

If Al Everest can get him back to his old form he could be the solution to our kicker issues. I know Suisham hasn't been terrible but he has proven he can't kick long field goals and that is something we need. Along with the great accuracy he has excellent size at 6'2 190 lbs.

This is the rookie free agent to keep your eye on in 2012.

Draft: Final Four Rounds

Here's a recap of the final four rounds of the draft:

Round 4 109th:
Alameda Ta'amu DT Washington. FINALLY. I wanted it in round two, three and four but didn't call it because I was disappointed enough. Thank you Steelers! One of my favorite picks in the draft!

Round 5 159th:
Chris Rainey RB Flordia. He is a small speedster, standing 5'8 180 lbs. He had 861 yards averaging 5 yards per carry as well as 381 receiving yards averaging 12.3 yards per catch. He is a great duel threat and could be a huge asset for the Steelers.

Round 7 231st:
Toney Clemons WR Colorado. He is a taller receiver who has good hands and should provide some depth behind Wallace, Brown, Cotchery and Sanders.

Round 7 240th:
David Paulson TE Oregon. I love this pick. I know we have a surplus of TE but Paulson has excellent pass blocking skills and could be a perfect pass blocker for Big Ben when hes not catching passes out of the backfield.

Round 7 246th:
Terrence Fredrick CB Texas A&M. I picked an A&M player to go to the Steelers, just the wrong one. He has a chance to work into the rotation or special teams but will need to beat out some super talented players like Cortez Allen; which I don't think will happen.

Round 7 248th:
Kelvin Beachum OT SMU. He is rather small at 6'2 303 lbs, could be used at G but will most likely be a backup if he makes the roster; could be another Keith Williams.

Draft: Day Three

Final four rounds of the NFL draft are going to take place tomorrow afternoon. I will not be available due to Fan Blitz at Heinz Field in Pittburgh! So, who do I like? I have been wrong the last two days but hey, here we go for a few more picks.

Round 4 119th:
George Iloka S Boise State. Its time to start planning for the future and Iloka is a super talented kid.

Round 5 159th:
Greg Childs WR Arkansas. We need depth and to be ready in case we lose Mike Wallace after this year.

Round 6 193rd:
Lucas Nix G Pittsburgh. What can I say? I love Pitt and we still need a LG.

Round 7 240th:
Randy Bullock K Texas A&M. We need a kicker.

Round 7 246th:
Ernest Owusu DE Cal. More depth to grow behind our veteran and aging line.

Round 7 248th:
Ryan Davis DE/OLB Bethune-Cookman. What is a draft without the Steelers drafting a DE/OLB hybrid?

Draft: Round Three

With their 3rd round pick 86th overall the Steelers grabbed Miami LB, Sean Spence. Spence is a small guy standing 5'11 and weighing 231 lbs.

He was named the 2008 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the 2008 Freshman All-American team. He finished his career with 169 tackles, 148 of those solo with 10.5 sacks and an interception. He finished his career second all time in tackles for a loss with 47 and was a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award.

He can play inside or outside and has plenty of time to learn from the veterans on our roster.

Draft: Round Two

From the ultimate high to an unfortunate low point. I don't care about how good someone could be or how much talent they have. If you have three positive test for marijuana, a suspension for improper benefits and a poor showing benching then you are not worth the risk.

The Steelers don't agree and drafted Mike Adams OT Ohio State with their 2nd round pick, 56th overall. He is a very large man standing 6'7 and weighing 323 lbs. He was hugely successful in the Big Ten and could translate quickly in the NFL. Is that worth the risk though?

The Steelers have needed to re-work the offensive line for about five years now and they have shown the effort in 2012. We have one more pick today and I have to assume they will address the defensive line now.

Draft: Day Two

With an amazing day one in the books, the Steelers are looking towards getting even better and filling some spots they need to upgrade. With David DeCastro in the first round the Steelers started the process of improving the offensive line. So, in the second and third round where to they go? DL? ILB? DB?

My pick for the second round has become a popular one, and I usually stay away from those. In a perfect world Penn State's Devon Still or Michigan State's Jerel Worthy would fall to us at 56, but I'm not thinking either will. The player I would love and would make a huge impact is Washington DT Alameda Ta'amu. He is a big body at 6'3 335 lbs and could learn behind veteran Casey Hampton, who is coming to the end of his career. 

The third round is a tricky one. The Steelers could use depth at ILB, WR and in the secondary. Yet they always need more help on the lines. With their third round pick, 86th overall, Brandon Washington OT/G. I know we used our first round pick on a lineman but with all the injuries and shuffling we did last year, we need more. He is versatile and has great size at 6'4 320 lbs.

Again, we are not rebuilding or filling holes, we are upgrading positions. I know some people are clamoring for a CB but we did draft two great prospects last year and we should give them a chance before moving on. We will just have to wait and see how this turns out but these two players would be huge for our team.

Also keep your eyes on Jared Crick DL Nebraska, Amini Silatolu G Midwestern St, Brandon Boykin DB Georgia and James Micheal-Johnson ILB Nevada.

The Day After

I woke up this morning and went through my normal motions. I took a vacation day so I could enjoy last nights draft and the days to come. After I was ready to go for the day I stopped and realized, "hey, David DeCastro fell to us at 24!"

This is a great day for Steeler fans and everyone should have the same emotion about it. We picked the number one guard in the draft at the 24 spot after numerous teams reached and traded for position players and defensive lineman.

With day two looming I am so excited to see where we go next. We need some more line help on both sides the ball and could always use a skill player to boost our receiving corp and running back corp. The draft is a few hours away and I am getting itchy to see what happens next.

I will be throwing up my projections for the second and third round a bit later today; then my projections for four through seven this evening because I will be at Fan Blitz tomorrow!

Draft: Round One

I was right while being wrong. I said that the Steelers should move up to take David DeCastro but I didn't think they would. So, I stated they would stay put and settle on Cordy Glenn from Georgia. The Steelers did stay put but where able to get amazing David DeCastro.

DeCastro is a monster. He stands just shy of 6'5 and weighs in at 316 lbs. At Stanford he named First Team all PAC-10 and a unanimous All-American. He is an instant upgrade at the guard spot and will be huge in helping Big Ben stay upright and improve the run game.

David welcome to the Steel City.

Draft: Day One

Its a new year and a new draft. Last year I successfully picked the Cameron Heyward pick for the Steelers; I did go 0 for my next 6 though. So, who do I like this year? What do the Steelers need first?

The Steelers need a lot of help on the offensive line and they could very well ignore that in the first round but should they? I keep hearing all the Dont'a Hightower talk and to me it doesn't make any sense. We have a few great young linebackers, see Stevenson Sylvester, and there are later round picks that could sure this spot up without ignoring the other first round talents. The biggest thing is that our offensive line needs so much more help than our linebackers; and a lineman pick would benefit this team much more than a linebacker.

In a perfect world, to me, I would love to see the Steelers trade up to the 20 spot and grab DeCastro above the Bengals, who have been projected to grab him. He is big and mean and would be someone the fans would fall in love with immediately. Along side Maurkice Pouncey and Marcus Gilbert, having that monster on our line could help keep Ben standing.

But in case they don't trade up I think they stay offensive line. So, my pick for the Steelers at 24, trade not pending, is Cordy Glenn OT Georgia.

Glenn is extremely underrated due to the fact that he is not a left tackle, although he played there this season at UGA. Glenn is a natural guard or right tackle and with Gilbert moving to the left side he could make our line so much better. It also doesn't hurt he stands 6'5 and weighs a booming 320 lbs.

So, with less than an hour to go we will see how right I am vs the other "experts."

Throwbacks 2012

The Steelers unveiled their 2012 throwbacks for their 80th anniversary, wow. The uniforms are a form of the 1933 jersey with a bit of a modern twist. Wow. They really are something to look at.

It's a much different look than the solid black and yellow throwbacks from the 75th anniversary, but I think I will be buying one of these. They are unique and something you don't see everyday; its probably something you don't want to see everyday.

Tomlin into HOF

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, will receive a great honor on April 14th when he will be inducted into the William and Mary Hall of Fame. Before his days as an NFL coach, Mike Tomlin was a standout receiver for the Tribe from 1992-1995.

In four years Coach Tomlin amassed 101 catches for 2,046 yards and 20 touchdowns. His yards rank 10th all time, while his touchdowns rank 4th all time. Tomlin still owns school records for yards per reception in a season and career with 25.5 and 20.1, respectively.

Since becoming the Steelers head coach in 2008, Tomlin has amassed a 60-28 record; 55-25 in the regular season and 5-3 in the post season.

Congratulations to Coach Tomlin and his family on this great honor.

Cotchery's Back

The Steelers have made their second free agency move in as many days as they resigned one of their own. The Steelers resigned Jerricho Cotchery to a two year deal just one day after inking former Cardinal and Chief, Leonard Pope.

Jerricho spent 2011 with the Steelers after spending seven years with the New York Jets. In 2011, Cotchery caught 16 passes for 237 yards with two touchdowns.

After the retirement of Hines Ward, Jerricho will have a much bigger roll with the Steelers in 2012.

Steelers Sign Pope

Thats right everyone, the Pope has signed with Pittsburgh. Leonard Pope at least.

The Steelers in a very rare instance dipped into the free agent market to pick up the former Kansas City Chief. Pope was drafted in the 3rd round 72nd overall in 2006 by the Arizona Cardinals out of Georgia. He played with Arizona for three years from 2006 to 2008 before leaving via free agency for the Chiefs.

He is a massive body standing 6'8 and weighing in at 264lbs. The big man has started 49 of 87 career games; catching 102 passes for 973 yards and nine touchdowns. Pope has also started four post season games including the Super Bowl XLIII against his new team, the Steelers.

Pope is the sixth tight end to be added to the Steelers roster joining Health Miller, Weslye Saunders, David Johnson, Jamie McCoy and Wes Lyons. With Saunders set to miss the first four games of the season due to substance abuse violations and the rest of the pack, with the exception of Jamie McCoy, looking rather mediocre, Pope has a real chance to be the second or third tight end this upcoming season.

Another Anniversary

The Steelers announced plans to celebrate their 80th anniversary this season. What?

I know it sounds odd especially since we just finished the 75th anniversary five short years ago; but I guess the money generated from the 75th merchandise enticed the Steelers to do it again.

Now, I love the Steelers and will end up getting some of the merchandise but really? What ever happened to the years when you only celebrated key years in your franchises history? Ten years, twenty five years, fifty years, seventy five and one hundred.

Either way this year will be yet another exciting one as the Steelers work to get back to the big game and win their seventh Super Bowl.