The Pittsburgh Steelers made a big splash on Tuesday by signing free agent safety Mike Mitchell to a five-year, $25 million deal. Mitchell brings youth to a defense where the average age of the starters was 33 last year.
I give this signing an A if I have to grade it. Mitchell had a breakout year in 2013 on one of the NFL’s best defenses. He also came at a pretty good price for the Steelers.
Free agent tight end Jermichael Finley is drawing interest from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweeted as much on Friday. Of course, Finley is also drawing interest from plenty of other teams.
Read More »Jermichael Finley Drawing Interest From the Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Monday that they have placed the transition tag on linebacker Jason Worilds. That gave them the right to match any offer Worilds would have received on the free agent market. It also means Worilds is getting $9.754 million from the Steelers in 2014 if he signs the offer.
On Tuesday, he did sign the offer. That’s a good sign Worilds believes a long-term deal is coming his way, since he can no longer accept offers from other teams.
Read More »What Does Jason Worilds’ Transition Tag Mean for the Steelers?
Ben Roethlisberger is coming off one of the most productive seasons of his career. Antonio Brown has proven himself one of the league’s elite receivers as well as a great playmaker on special teams.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers and Emmanuel Sanders looking at parting ways this off season, Big Ben is going to need a quality receiver to take his place. Jerricho Cotchery led the Steelers in touchdown receptions this past season with 10. In the process, he had one of the best seasons of his career and proved himself a viable option. He should remain one if the Steelers don’t let him leave via free agency.
Jarvis Jones did not have a very impressive rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers first-round pick had just one sack and 41 tackles all year.
However, Dick LeBeau’s defense takes time to get used to. Jones did not see a lot of downs early on in the season. In fact, Jones was benched in the game vs. Oakland and Jason Worilds saw 52 snaps compared to Jones’ 11.
It’s no question that the Pittsburgh Steelers have their work cut out for them this offseason. The team finished 8-8 for the second straight year in 2013 and have plenty of holes to fill.
The Steelers’ two most obvious positions of weakness are wide receiver and defensive tackle.
The Steelers lost the turnover battle in 2013, finishing with a minus-4 turnover differential. There’s no question that another pass rushing defensive lineman could help put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and bolster the defense.
Offensively, the Steelers finished 2013 ranked 16th in points with an average of 23.7 per game. However, they may soon have a big hole to fill if free agent receiver Emmanuel Sanders departs.Read More »What the Pittsburgh Steelers Need the Most in the Draft
Here’s an interesting thought for the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 offseason. What happens if they were to draft Missouri defensive end Michael Sam?
Everyone knows Sam by now as the prospect who openly admitted he’s gay. I personally have no problem with his decision and not many other people appear to either.
I could see the Steelers drafting Sam, but only if the timing was absolutely right. Sam is not a can’t-miss prospect, but the kid is on a mission. He’s already said he wants to be known for what he does on the field and not his life off it.
Would the Steelers draft Sam? Yes.
The 2013 NFL season officially came to an end last night with the Seattle Seahawks epic 43-8 ass-whuppin’ of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. In many ways, last night was something of a blast from the past. From Joe Namath big pimpin’ the coin toss in his classic fur coat look to Bruno Mars and his shitty Motown ripoff gimmick to the utter one-sidedness of the final score, yesterday’s Super Bowl was decidedly retro. And that’s not even counting the night’s best commercial which featured Alf, Jason Voorhees, and Hulk Hogan.
When I started watching football in the mid-80s, the Super Bowl pretty much followed the same pattern as we saw last night. The AFC would feature an offensive powerhouse who would go against a tough, defensive-minded NFC team and end up getting crushed. You youngsters out there have been spoiled as the last decade or so worth of Super Bowls have truly lived up to the hype. When I was a kid, it was usually a four hour one-sided beating.Read More »Bettis Not Elected To HOF (And Other Super Bowl Thoughts)
Welcome to Jerome Bettis week here on TotesStillers!
On Tuesday, I mentioned the Bus’s near fatal mistake against the Indianapolis Colts. Thankfully, our last image of Bettis wasn’t him sitting glumly on the sideline after a brainfart of epic proportions but rather him hoisting the Lombardi Trophy aloft after the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. It was a storybook ending for a fantastic career. With his playing days behind him, there is now only one more honor for Bettis to attain.
Will this be the year Jerome Bettis is elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame?Read More »Jerome Bettis Finalist (Again) For Hall Of Fame
File this one under, “Can’t make this stuff up.”
Remember the Pittsburgh Steelers magical playoff run leading up to Super Bowl XL? I’m sure we all remember it like it was yesterday. Everybody also remembers exactly where and what we were doing when Jerome Bettis fumbled against the Colts, nearly blowing our shot at an epic upset and his chance to go out on top. In the days that followed, a story even surfaced of a man suffering a heart attack as the result of that play.
What I’m trying to say here is Steeler Nation takes their football seriously.Read More »Lawsuit Filed Over Steelers Missing Playoffs