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Bret Keisel

Know Thy Enemy: Indianapolis Colts

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Sorry NBC, no take backs.  At least not until week twelve.

The [intlink id=”20″ type=”category”]Pittsburgh Steelers[/intlink] face off the Indianapolis Colts in this week’s edition of Sunday Night Football. Steeler Nation will be tuned in from coast to coast. Cris Collinsworth will be in the booth gleefully pointing out every mistake the Steelers make. Faith Hill will be there in her pleasingly tight dress, although sadly she’s chosen not to bring back the sexy hooker boots she wore three years ago.

The only person who won’t be there is Peyton Manning.

Obviously this match-up looked attractive back in June. It’s not like the Colts gave any indication their franchise player would miss the entire season. They signed him to a $69 million dollar contract in late July for crying out loud. Then again, unlike the Steelers and the $29 million they flushed down the crapper on [intlink id=”85″ type=”category”]Willie Colon[/intlink], the Colts were smart enough to insert a buy out clause that gets them off the hook if Manning never steps behind center again.

The point being this game was never the Steelers versus the Colts.  It was going to be Peyton Manning against Blitzburgh. Remove Pey-Pey from the equation and you have an Indianapolis team who are fast becoming the NFL version of the Cleveland Cavaliers sans LeBron.
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Steelers Alter The Deal, Pray They Don’t Alter It Further

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The Pittsburgh Steelers must be in compliance with the 2011 salary cap by Thursday.  As of this morning, they were still approximately $10 million over the target of $120 million plus three $1 million exceptions.  This coupled with a rash of last minute re-signings set off a round of renegotiations with players already under long term contract.

Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison were the big ticket items who agreed to alter their deals.  Although let’s be clear, neither Big Ben nor Silverback are taking a pay cut.  The Steelers simply employed an accounting trick to help alleviate some of the cap pressure.  Signing bonuses are divided evenly over the term of the contract and that number in addition to the base salary are what count against the cap.  By lowering the annual salary and paying a larger portion of the contract as a signing bonus, you can effectively lower your cap hit without changing the total value of the contract.
Read More »Steelers Alter The Deal, Pray They Don’t Alter It Further