Offseason Round File, Part IV(a)

Alright, it's been well over a month since the last one of these, but due to overwhelming response, I've quit my job to cobble together this most recent version. Alright, I didn't quit my job, but it definitely reads like it's been "cobbled together" in about the time it takes to fast-forward through a commercial using TiVo. The upside is that this is how most of my stuff reads, so you probably won't even notice. You'll also notice that I've only covered Week 11 here.

(You'll also probably remember that I initially had the idea of doing four games a week, then I reduced it to three games a shot because, well, it took a lot longer to write up than I expected. Now, we're down to one game at a time, and I suspect by the time we get to the playoffs I'll be down to a quarter-by-quarter breakdown. I gotta drag this thing out as long as possible, you know.)

Actually, I've only included Week 11 here because I also want to spend some time discussing the Steelers' "draft pool" -- the big list of guys who are on the radar for Day One, anyway. Plus, we don't want to blow through all of these with the unbearably-slow-football-news months of May and June right around the corner, do we? I didn't think so. So, were were we? Oh right, Week 11 ... but before we do, I'll throw out some pre-draft day thoughts first.

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First, thanks to everybody for the kind words even if it took some of you a while to figure out that I wasn't going to start charging you to read this drivel.

Okay, so we've been talking about the draft for three months now and let's recap:

1) Most of us would prefer the Steelers pass on LenDale White, but like GlennW mentioned as some point in the last few weeks, if White is around at 1.32, and given Cowher/Colbert's success at evaluating talent in recent drafts, I'll ultimately leave it up to them and not do to much grumbling.

2) Because Sinorice Moss hasn't been in for a visit doesn't bode well for him -- at least in the first round -- which, as you probably guessed, is fine by me.

3) With 10 picks, the Steelers can do a lot of moving around on Saturday/Sunday, and there are two lines of thinking here: a) Pittsburgh can move up in the first round and grab somebody like Whitner if they want, or b) trade picks in this draft for better picks in future drafts. I tend to favor the latter (I think), just because the Steelers don't have any glaring needs and after the top 15-20 picks or so, there don't seem to be any "game-changing" type players.

In Thursday's Draft Report, Wexell goes so far as to suggest trading out of the first round all together and possibly get another second out of it. I'd be A-OK with Pittsburgh doing this in addition to trading, say, a fourth in '06 for a third in '07. No need to blow through the picks just because you have them.

So knowing all this, what kind of list are we talking about for Saturday? I'm making a list of five or six guys in each of the first three rounds that I'd like to see the Steelers grab -- best players at the top. I'm considering trades or any other stuff because, well, I'd be here all day. Instead, I'll just assume Pittsburgh's picking at 1.32, 2.64, and 3.96. Let's get to it (and, as always, feel free to add your two cents in the comments):

Round 1 (32nd pick):
Donte Whitner
Santonio Holmes
Bobby Carpenter
Darnell Bing
Joseph Addai
LenDale White

Round 2 (64th pick):
Jason Allen
Demetrius Williams
Maurice Drew
Jon Alston
Daniel Bullocks
Davin Joseph
Abdul Hodge

Round 3 (96th pick):
Maurice Stovall
Anthony Smith
Danieal Manning
Chris Chester
Best Available O-linemen other than Chester

Okay, now my head hurts. I couldn't even name any other O-linemen who might be available with the 96th pick, but if everybody else has been drafted, then I'm down with that.

Yeah, I know I have LenDale (and Addai) in the first, and I would feel better about putting them in round two, but (a) neither one of them will make it to 64, and (b) if every other guy in front of them on that list is gone, then you have to take one of them (at least given my "no trade" rule). Also, if the Steelers get Whitner in the first then they shouldn't draft Allen a round later, even though he tops the 2.64 list (and the only reason I have Allen in the second is because of the concerns about his hip ... based solely on what I've read, of course). And for the record, I'm not sold on Maurice Stovall, even in the third round, but I'm taking a "Fred Gibson" on him here. Okay, knock yourselves out with your Day One list, and in the meantime, here's Week 11 of the ORF.

And one more thing, here's the plan for Saturday: I'll put up a thread around noon, and probably update it as various first-round happenings unfold to help kill the six hours until pick 32. And then I'll presumably do it for rounds two and three as well. We'll see.

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Okay, now we're were we?

Week 11: Baltimore Ravens
... Heading into Week 11, the Steelers were 7-2 and in the driver's seat. Except that Ben Roethlisberger was on the shelf with his recent knee surgery and his backup, Charlie Batch, broke his finger in the Week 10 shellacking of the Browns. Okay, maybe this is kinda like being in the driver's seat during the last scene of Thelma & Louise with Touchdown Tommy at the wheel. Still, the Steelers were playing the hapless Ravens and not even Maddox could screw that up, right? Well ...

In the days leading up to the game, all the talk was about how, after his performance in the Jags game, Pittsburgh should very seriously consider staring Antwaan Randle El at QB. And not one person immediately dismissed this idea as ludicrous, although Countertorque warned about opening that Pandora's Box:

"I don't mean to rain on anybody's parade, especially El's. But, I think we should all try real hard to remember what happened the last time we started a WR at QB.

I'm the guy who turned out the lights when I left the Kordell Stewart fan club. But, really there are only 2 possibilities. Either El does miserable and we all wake up and realize that a bad NFL QB is still a lot better at throwing than a good NFL WR. Or, EL does really well and then what? Does El become the backup QB? Does El start lobbying to become a QB on some other team next season? Does he start demanding a bigger paycheck? It'd be a mess (and we've all been there).

I think it's great (and smart) that the team uses him as the emergency QB. I think it's great that he can take a couple of snaps at QB during the season. But, let's be careful what we ask for."

To which I added:

"Something else to consider: if El did start, and Brooks was the LT, how long would that last? I mean, El might weigh 175 lbs. and if he's taking sacks, and gets injured, then what? Cedrick Wilson as the #2? Uh, I'll pass. So while the idea of El starting at QB is intriguing (and certainly a hell of a lot more exciting than the prospects of Maddox), it's probably not in the best interests of the team. Well, at least until the team goes down 14 points on two first quarter picks-for-six by Mr. Gun."

In retrospect, I would've taken my chances with El. And basically did so in the middle of watching this debacle:

"... [Cowher's] a great motivator -- no doubt about it -- but I do question some of his in-game decisions. Exhibit A: The Jaguars game. The first three possessions ended in two Tommy Maddox interceptions. Cowher intimates after the game that maybe he should have gone with Batch, but felt like Maddox settled down, and consequently left him in there. The result? Pick for six, game over. Exhibit B: Yesterday. Luckily, this game wasn't televised locally, so I didn't TiVo it, which means that I never have to watch it again. But I distinctly remember turning to my buddy Andy with 3:31 left in the 3rd quarter and saying: Well, Tommy's got 3:31 left to do something, because after that, it's Randle El time.

Let's chalk that up to wishful thinking. Cowher, as a surprise to no one, stuck with Maddox, and the Steelers continued to struggle matriculating the ball up the field. A lot. At several points during the game, Andy and I honestly couldn't imagine a scenario that would end in a Steelers touchdown."

Of course, I was just getting warmed up:

"I know, I know. A lot of people would ask, "would Randle El have been any better?" Here's my question: Could he have been any worse? Honestly. Maddox took six sacks, many of which were a direct consequence of him holding onto the ball too long. Put in the same situation, 100 times out of 100, Randle El would be better at avoiding a tackle-for-loss than Maddox. And yes, you could make the same argument for Randle El vs. most starting QBs, but the difference is that Maddox really doesn't bring anything to the table in terms of threatening a defense through the air."

Okay, in retrospect, maybe that's a Pandora's Box worth messing around with if for no other reason than having to watch another performance like Maddox put forth during Week 11.

Next Edition of the Offseason Round File is tenatively scheduled for June 14th, 2006. (ORF schedule may change without notice)