Sport's Beat

SPORTS BEAT

By Rich Briggs
The Weekly Recorder
March 14, 2008

At this time of the year, the Penguins are gearing up for a playoff run as they begin to finish their season and jockey for seeding in the Stanley Cup playoffs; the Pirates are in the midst of their spring training in Bradenton, Florida; and the Steelers are in preparations to ready themselves for the NFL Draft, which occurs in April.

All three sports and all three activities bring a degree of excitement to the Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania region. Given that this is a football region, first, all area fans begin to wonder who the Steelers will target with their first pick in the draft, and who they will go after in the later rounds to build their team with depth. Those residents of the area who do not follow hockey and have not followed baseball all that much since the Pirates are in a 15 year losing streak, this is what they have to look forward to and they begin, in earnest, predicting who the Steelers will go after.

While this is a little early for a draft column, let me state that, in general terms, the Steelers have a certain philosophy in how they conduct their draft, as Cody pointed out in an earlier issue after he attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. They look at character, behavioral issues, and how a player will fit in with this team and this organization. They don’t just pick a player for the sake of picking a player, regardless of position. These players become an integral part of the community, which is important to the Steelers and Rooney organization.

Let me begin by saying that fans tend to think that players coming out of Pitt should be seriously considered by Steelers because they played at Pitt. While I am a Pitt fan, and was a huge Pitt fan back in the middle 1970s and into the middle 1980s when this team was a powerhouse, we have to get out of this mindset of being homers. I, for one, am not a homer. I will criticize when necessary and will praise when deserved. But I do not get caught up in all of this talk that the Steelers need to target these kids coming out of Pitt. They do not have to target anyone with ties to the area.

The Steelers are a team in transition, especially along the offensive and defensive lines, as the players on these lines are aging and are beginning to be on the wrong side of 30. These lines, at some point, must be addressed. There is much talk that the Steelers will target an offensive lineman in round one. Hold onto everything. While offensive line is a necessity, let’s look at the bigger picture.

The first pick in the first round is always the glamour pick, the sexy pick, the splash pick, and is almost always the best player available. Regardless of need, this player is the one who is the face of the rookie class and who gets the most publicity when he is picked and during training camp. Having said that, this player could be picked for any position, except quarterback (see Ben Roethlisberger).

This has been the case ever since Chuck Noll was head coach and continues to this day. Yes, sometimes need and best player available end up in the same package with the first pick, but that is sometimes the exception more than the rule. If an athlete is available in the first round, say a wide receiver to complement Santonio Holmes and give Ben another target, that player will most likely end up being selected. That’s the way the draft works, as long as that player fits into the Steelers’ philosophy.

Going back to offensive line, Jeff Otah from Pitt is being mentioned as a possible first round pick. Let’s look at this realistically. Otah may not drop that far when the Steelers select 23rd, unless they try to trade up to get him, and I doubt that will happen. The Steelers do not trade up, unless there is someone they really want and do what they have to do to go get him. I do not believe Otah fits that description.

This draft is very deep along the offensive line and the Steelers could very easily use their first round pick and draft a glamour athlete, then load up on offensive linemen in the later rounds. The lower rounds are used to build the depth of your football team, and the Steelers could very easily rebuild the offensive line with their later picks.

The defensive line, I’m sure, will be addressed as well. Without two effective lines, your football team is in trouble. Now that the Steelers have made their investment in Roethlisberger, they are not going to sit back and watch their franchise quarterback end up on his back because the offensive line is getting old and gray. The Steelers will be doing their homework.

Back to my point about local players, Pitt players, coming out and being first round picks of the Steelers. The last time the Steelers selected a Pitt player in the first round was 1989, when they used the second of their two first round picks on offensive lineman Tom Ricketts from Pitt. He never panned out because he had small feet, which limited his movement and affected his blocking.

The next time the Steelers had a chance to draft a Pitt player was the infamous 1983 draft, the Year of the Quarterback, and Dan Marino was falling down the draft board. The Steelers had the opportunity to draft Marino and have him become Terry Bradshaw’s heir apparent. They passed on Marino and drafted Gabe Rivera instead, trying to rebuild by going to the defensive line, first, much the same way they did with Joe Greene in 1969. Rivera was in an automobile accident his rookie year and was paralyzed from the waste down, his career finished before it even started.

In later years, the Steelers were projected to look at Pitt players such as Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Palko, and last year Darrelle Revis. None of those players ended up in Steeler Black and Gold, and for good reason. I believe these young players need to get out of this area to begin their careers, learn a new system with a different team, and learn what it’s like to live in a different area of the country.

This is not a bad thing for these young men. In this era of free agency, they can grow and mature in another part of the country and play for a different team for four or five years, then perhaps come back to Pittsburgh as unrestricted free agents and sign with the Steelers, as long as their asking price is reasonable and they are a fit for the Steelers. In most cases they are, as examples like Mike Logan and Charlie Batch come to mind.

The mindset has to be that the Steelers select the best player available in the first round, look for depth and need in the later rounds, and (re)build their football team with little to no regard for where the players are coming from. If it turns out the player comes from Pitt, or West Virginia for that matter, then so be it. Just because a player is local, doesn’t mean he automatically plays for the Steelers.

It may be nice to see Jeff Otah fall to the Steelers late in the first round, but I am not looking for that to happen. The Steelers do have other needs to address besides both lines and I would not be the least bit surprised to see them select a skilled position player (wideout, running back, cornerback) in the first round before an offensive lineman. You cannot turn down the chance to draft a stud athlete if he falls into your lap. But the Steelers are a smart organization and Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin will have done their homework when the draft rolls around in April. There will be more on the draft in April when it draws closer. In the meantime, Let’s Go Pens and Good Luck, Pirates!!