Things That Make a Lot of Sense...

... and when I say a lot, I mean, not at all. Okay, when the Steelers attended Kevin Jones' workout a few weeks ago, I got that; Dale Lolley mentioned that one of the Steelers scouts lives in the area and figured he'd just stop in. Fine.

But now, the Steelers heart Kevin Jones and vice versa, and it could come down to him getting a contract. Really? The first thought that popped into my head: maybe Fast Willie isn't as fully recovered as everybody thought. Or maybe Kevin Jones > Gary Russell > Najeh Davenport.

Fine, I suppose, but like a lot of fans, I'd prefer to see what Russell can't do with my own two eyes before they cut him. Of course, nobody in the front office gives a crap about what I think -- and, more importantly, there isn't any indication that the team is thinking about cutting Russell. But, jeebus, if Pittsburgh is seriously considering signing Jones, nothing would be off-limits, I'd think.

In less insane news, training camp is 12 days away.

Dennis Dixon! Yes!

I interrupt the siesta before training camp to let you know that a) Dennis Dixon has signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, b) he could replace Ben when the o-line inevitably gets Roethlisberger killed (never mind that Dixon will likely spend the year on IR because he's recovering from an ACL injury), and c) Dixon "inspires far more confidence in the fan base than does veteran journeyman Charlie Batch". (Really? How did I miss that?)

Just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page. Honestly, for somebody so connected, Florio's not all that connected.

We've Reached the Busiest Point in the NFL Schedule

Hello, my name is Ryan Wilson. Not much Steelers-related goings-on, but Big Ben did have some swell things to say about Willie Reid and Dallas Baker. I'm a Reid apologist, and maybe this is the year he finally gets it. That said, if Baker's good enough to make the team, he should.

But assuming Reid earns the kick-return job, is there any way the Steelers keep six receivers on the final 53? Don't we have this conversation every summer? It doesn't seem completely implausible. Plus, it follows Tomlin's new-fangled "how to improve the offensive line" philosophy: stack the field with skill position players.

In completely unrelated news: so, anybody give a crap about Terry Bradshaw admitting to using steroids? Should the Steelers of the '70s and '80s now be lumped in with the modern-day Patriots? Honestly, I haven't given it much thought, but I just can't muster the energy to be outraged. Maybe after I get the backstory, I'll feel differently (or maybe after one of you explains the particulars), but for now, I got nothing.

When in Doubt, Blame Sean, and Other Stuff

FTID beat me to it, but JJ Cooper does a fabulous job of breaking down all 53 sacks from the 2007 season. (Only 47 perpetrated on Big Ben!) If nothing else, it'll force us to not reflexively point to Sean Mahan as the sole culprit.

I wrote on SCI that Mahan doesn't deserve all the blame -- or most of it, even -- and that just an average showing by this year's center and the two guys on either side of him should go a long way in avoiding a "Big Ben=bus meat" situation. I've been wrong before, of course.

*******In other news, the most in the peanut gallery seem to be in favor of taking a flier on LeCharles Bentley, but lukewarm on Lorenzo Neal. Eh, I'm indifferent for both; Bentley is all sorts of busted up, he's at least two months behind everybody else in learning the offense, and if he's added to the roster, somebody's gotsta go.

Yes, it's easy to wave your hand (waves hand) and wish Mahan to the Ravens or some such, but the Steelers signed him to be a swing player (and supposedly a backup, although I could be misremembering), and that's exactly what he seems to be. Cutting him doesn't do anything but raise more concerns about depth along the o-line and add some dead money to the cap.

And at this point, as scary as it sounds, there's no guarantee Bentley's better than Mahan. I'm coming off much more conservative about this than I really think I am; if Pittsburgh signed Bentley, I'd be fine with it, but I would have no delusions that he'd be the starter come September.

As far as Lo Neal goes, he's a bad ass, for sure, but he's also 100 and coming off an injury (right?). Is he that much better than Kreider? I know he's better than Danny, but so much so that he's worth bringing in, coaching him up, and letting him split time with FB/HB hybrid Cary Davis? Again, I'm not so sure. And again, I wouldn't be upset if the front office made it happen.

I just don't want to be one of those knee-jerk "Let's sign him!" fans that sounds the alarm as soon as anybody gets released.

Because You Asked for It

Eric, too lazy to cut and paste, has his wish fulfilled: Ben Roethlisberger uses the offseason to educate the public on the dangers of riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

Paging All Monkeys

You may have noticed that the Haloscan comments have gone missing. They haven't disappeared into the ether (although that would be hardly surprising at this point), but I've disabled them for the time being because the monkeys at Halocan HQ have yet to iron out the bug that causes this site to load like it's 1997 and we're all using dial-up.

Get what you pay for, I guess. Sucks, too, because the entire catalog of witty HSS banter is recorded on Haloscan servers, and now we don't have access to them. Hopefully, Dr. Zaius will get on that so we can all get on with our lives.

In the meantime, we're stuck with Blogger comments. Enjoy. Actually, if we think these are better, maybe I'll set up a another site strictly for Haloscan historical purposes. I doubt it will come to that, but who knows, somebody might be interested in what the HSS peanut gallery was thinking during, say, either of the Steelers-Jags games last season.

In terms of Steelers-related news, well, there's not much going on, obviously. John Harris wrote this awesome piece, which, sadly, is probably some of his best work. Enjoy.

HSS Workout Club

Alrighty, I figure we could use another thread. Feel free to continue the high-brow conversation here, or we can take this opportunity to discuss why Troy Polamalu chooses to work out with Todd Marinovich's old man. (Actually, I don't have an issue with it, and after watching the video, I really do think Troy might be Neo.)

Update: Dr. Gretz makes my summer.
Update to the update: Enjoy the video at the end. I don't know who Tank Abbott is, but he should immediately be inducted into the Pittsburgh Hall of Fame.