Practice Squad

The Steelers announced eight players had been signed to the practice squad this morning. Runningback John Clay, tight end Jamie McCoy, wide receiver Tyler Grisham, offensive lineman Trevis Turner and John Malecki, defensive lineman Corbin Bryant, linebacker Mortty Ivy and defenisive back Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith were the lucky players.

With the 53 man roster and eight player practice squad set, I wanted to look back at my predictions and see how I fared. My initial predictions yielded 49 of 53 correct, missing the cut of Tony Hills, Crezdon Butler, Mortty Ivy and Donovan Warren (even though I noted that Ivy and Warren were stretches to make the team)

I fared much worse with the practice squad picking four of the eight correct. Ivy didn't make the active roster but was signed to the practice squad, and trust me, he will be on the active roster at some point this year.

Final Roster Set

The Steelers made their final five cuts to get under the mandatory 53 player limit, and some are rather shocking. The Steelers cut Crezdon Butler, Tony Hills, John Gilmore, Jeremy Kapinos and Jarrett Crittenton.

I am rather surprised by Butler and Hills being let go of the five. The Steelers are already thin at the offensive line spot and have a huge lack of talent at cornerback. Hills lost his starting job to Doug Legursky in the final preseason game citing the lack of understanding at the position; I figured they would just bench him instead of releasing him though.

These final cuts bring the Steelers totals to three quarterbacks, four running backs, three tight ends, six wide receivers, nine offensive linemen, seven defensive linemen, eight linebackers, 10 defensive backs, one kicker, one punter and one long snapper.

Week 1 Offensive Line

Sunday night offers many things to Steeler fans. Sunday will start another chapter in the storied rivalry against the Ravens as well as a new chapter in the poor recent history of the Steelers offensive line. With the release of Max Starks and Flozell Adams plus the return of Willie Colon, the Steelers will once again patch together an offensive line to protect the franchise quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.

The starting left tackle will most likely be 5th year veteran Jonathan Scott, with seasoned road grater Chris Kemoeatu to start at left guard. Anchoring the center of the line will be the former rookie sensation and Pro Bowler Maurkice Pouncey with his former backup, Doug Legursky getting his chance to start at right guard. That means that penalty prone Willie Colon will return to start at right tackle, this should be interesting.

So, what about second round pick Marcus Gilbert?

With the lack of an offseason, Marcus Gilbert didn't have time to learn the ins and outs of a pro style offense and really didn't have much of a chance to start as a rookie. Gilbert will most likely be the left tackle of the future, but right now he needs to sit and learn while getting some valuable playing time here and there.

The biggest shocker is 3rd year Marshall center/guard, Doug Legursky, will get the start over the expected starter Tony Hills. The coaches felt that Legursky understands the position better than the other lineman competing for the job, so decided to let him have a shot. Legursky has started four games, all of them last season, including the Super Bowl against the Packers. He has a smaller frame than typical lineman standing only 6'1 weighing it at 315 lbs but has an excellent skill set to be an NFL lineman.

With all the new faces we can only  hope that the growing pains are short and painless, but with our schedule that is not likely. The line will be  tested early against three straight playoff teams, at Baltimore, home against Seattle and at Indianapolis.

Well, heres to week one hopes for the line.

Five More to Go

The Steelers cut their roster down to 58 today but there is still five more players to be cut. So, who are they?

Here are a few people that really stick out to me that are left on the roster.

                             
Jarrett Crittenton DE Middle Tennessee State
The Steelers picked him up in August from the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie stands 6'6 and weighs in at 290 lbs. His size along gets him a look on the roster but I just don't see him beating out Steve McLendon or first rounder Cameron Heyward.

Jeremy Kapinos P Penn State
It has been an amazing battle between Kapinos and the often injured Daniel Sepulveda, but Sepulveda is just too good. I love Kapinos and the Steelers would be good with either one, but I think Sepulveda will edge him out.

John Gilmore TE Penn State
It will come down to Gilmore and the rookie Wesyle Saunders for the third TE and why would you go with the more expensive veteran? Saunders has huge upside and is a beast of a player. Gilmore was brought in for competition and he brought that while he was here.

Cortez Allen CB Citadel
I love this kid but he has just not been able to stay healthy. Allen received limited practice time and just as little playing time. If he had stayed healthy then we might be having a different argument at this time. Love the kid but I think he is gone.

Chris Scott OL Tennessee
I think it will come down to him and Trai Essex and he can't compete with Essex versatility. Unlike Chris Scott, Trai Essex can play every position from left tackle to right tackle, he even started the final preseason game at Center. This is my odd man out because I think the Steelers will keep 6 receivers and 6 corners, the final cut will need to come from somewhere.

Steelers Cut to 58

The Steelers cut 21 players and placed Byron Leftwich on the IR.

There are a few shocking cuts but he bulk of the cuts are not surprising. The Steelers released linebackers Baraka Atkins, Mario Harvey, Chris McCoy and Mortty Ivy, defensive lineman Corbin Bryant, defensive backs Brett Greenwood, Macho Harris, Donovan Warren and Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith, running backs James Johnson and John Clay, offensive linemen Colin Miller, Kyle Jolly, John Malecki, Trevis Turner and Keith Williams, wide receivers Armand Robinson, Wes Lyons and Tyler Grisham, tight end Jamie McCoy and kicker Swayze Waters.

The only real shocking cut is that of Mortty Ivy. He was solid all preseason with two sacks, a forced fumble and led the Steelers in tackles twice. The Steelers need to cut five more players by 6pm tomorrow.

53 Man Predictions

With the final round of cuts coming on Saturday at 6pm, it is time to get my predictions for this year's roster ready to roll. Most of the choices are cake and won't really shock anyone, however there are a few close calls and I broke down some of my "shocker" picks so you all could see where my thought process was.


QB (3)
Ben Roethlisberger, Charile Batch, Dennis Dixon

RB (4)
Rashard Mendenhall, Issac Redman, Mewelde Moore, Jonathan Dwyer

WR (5)**
Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery

TE (3)
Heath Miller, David Johnson, Weslye Saunders

OT (4)
Jonathan Scott, Marcus Gilbert, Willie Colon, Trai Essex*

OG (3)
Chris Kemoeatu, Ramon Foster, Tony Hills

C (2)
Maurkice Pouncey, Doug Legursky

DE (4)
Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith, Ziggy Hood, Cameron Heyward

DT (3)
Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke, Steve McLendon*

OLB (4)
James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worilds, Chris Carter*

ILB (4)
James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, Stevenson Sylvester, Mortty Ivy*

CB (7)
Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, William Gay, Keenan Lewis, Crezdon Butler, Curtis Brown, Donovan Warren*

S (4)
Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Ryan Mundy, Will Allen*

ST (3)
Shaun Suisham, Daniel Sepulveda, Greg Warren

*Trai Essex
I don't see him getting cut after being signed in what I consider to be desperation time. He is experienced and knows the offense, unlike rookie Keith Williams. He can play both tackle and guard spots and even started at center in the final preseason contest. He has also started 25 games in a Steeler uniform over his career.

*Steve McLendon
Has been really impressive but I don't think he has been impressive enough to unseat Chris Hoke, yet. He should sneak into the roster because the Steelers will most likely put Byron Leftwich on IR.

*Chris Carter
He has not been a factor in the preseason at all. The pass rush the Steelers had hoped for has really been missing and it is possible that the Steelers will keep him on the roster because of the lack of an off-season.

*Mortty Ivy
This is my "reach". With the Steelers fretting about the salary cap I think that Larry Foote could be gone along with his 3 million dollar contract. Foote has not made a huge case to stay around and Ivy has done some really good things. He was a tackle machine against the Redskins and forced a turnover late against the Falcons. He is cheaper than Foote and could be a good backup and special teamer.

*Donovan Warren
He has played well when given the opportunity and with Cortez Allen being injured the entire off-season, I don't see them taking the risk. Allen will get on the practice squad as he is edged out for the final corner spot.

*Will Allen
This is a toss up for me. Allen has not been impressive in the preseason and is much more expensive than the rookie Brent Greenwood, but with no off-season I don't see the Steelers taking a risk here.

**Arnaz Battle
Biggest question becomes do you get a sixth receiver or a seventh cornerback? I am guessing they will go with the corner because we won't use our fifth receiver anyway. If they do go the other way, Battle will make the roster for his special teams skills.

Practice Squad
Kyle Jolly, John Malecki, Keith Williams, Corbin Bryant, Jamie McCoy, Brent Greenwood, Mario Harvey, Tyler Grisham

Panthers Preview

The traditional Steelers (2-1) and Panthers (1-2) preseason game will take place tonight in Panther country as the teams look to solidify their rosters before Saturday's final cuts.

This game has become a tradition, as this will be the thirteenth meeting between the Steelers and Panthers in the preseason. That is pretty amazing when you factor in the Panthers have only been a team for seventeen years. In the previous twelve meetings the Steelers have the edge 8-4 including four straight victories.

The starters will play very sparingly, if at all. Ben Roethlisberger will not play and Doug Legursky will get the start at right guard instead of Tony Hills. The Steelers are looking to fill in their last five or so roster spots, so expect the young guys to get a lot of quality playing time. There are still some spots that the Steelers are looking to fill with quality backups and I expect a few upsets.

Inactives:
Ben Roethlisberger, Ike Taylor, Chris Carter, Jerricho Cotchery

Questionable:
James Farrior, Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, Bryant McFadden, Maurkice Pouncey

So, what should we all be watching or tonight? Here are my focuses for this final preseason match-up.

Secondary:
Donovan Warren needs to make a final impressive push for a roster spot, and this is his chance. With Cortez Allen out almost the entire preseason Donovan has a chance to sneak onto the Steelers roster after going undrafted in 2010. Donovan took advantage of the playing time he received last week against the Falcons and he needs to do that same tonight against the suspect Panthers offense.

Defensive Line:
The defensive line is set but I could easily see Steve McLendon making the roster with Byron Letwich possibly being put on IR. McLendon has played really well this preseason, not enough to unseat the 10 year veteran Chris Hoke, but enough to possibly make the roster. This is Steve's make or break time and he needs to turn up the heat to get a spot on the touted Steelers defense.

Linebackers:
Mortty Ivy has a chance to grab a roster spot after a good showing against the Redskins and Falcons. Ivy can contribute on special teams as well as being a solid backup. Ivy is also cheaper than the other linebackers gunning for a position so that makes this the most intriguing battle in this final preseason match-up.

Kicker:
Shaun Suisham is most likely going to start the season as the Steelers kicker because incumbent Swayze Waters couldn't kick his way to a roster spot. Waters has a stronger leg than Suisham but he has been inaccurate and this is his last chance to try and steal a spot away.