Sepulverize This

First things first: Dr. Gretz has turned to the Dark Side. Congrats on that. Also, Dagger, of Post Game Heroes, has last week's offensive-line breakdown. Which leads to this...

After watching Sunday's Steelers-Skins affair, I was left feeling, well ... not so much despondent ... but discouraged, I guess. The offensive line, in a word, sucks. I'm super psyched that Willie Colon and Sean Mahan are getting looks, but this could be a classic case of band-aid on shotgun wound.

But it's early, and one of the typical symptoms of fanaticism is myopia; it's hard to take the long view when you're in the midst of watching Trai Essex fall down in his backpedal, or Kendall Simmons getting blown off the line of scrimmage on a running play.

Well, I'm going to avoid further bad-mouthing the o-line just yet. I know there's something to be said for the unit working together, so maybe things will get better in the next two weeks. (Frankly, I don't see it happening; this is virtually the same unit that looked like crap last year ... except they lost their Pro Bowl center. But I'll keep those thoughts to myself for now, and put on a happy face.)

While I try not to think about the o-line issues, apparently, there's a good chance Dan Kreider gets a visit from the Turk. I dismissed such a thought last week, and it just shows how much I know. I'm against this since Kreider might be one of the best two or three blockers on the entire roster, but if Carey Davis can fill Kreider's role and then some ... great. I'm not convinced, but nobody's trying to convince me.

With all the potential changes, I guess Pittsburgh might as well go all out and keep Brian St. Pierre too. To be fair, he's had a great camp, and this is the first time in his career that I think he's worth keeping around. And like many of you mentioned in the comments, Ben isn't afraid to miss a few games with an injury ... or five. And neither is Charlie, for that matter.

Finally, I fully embrace vabstanggt's suggestion and will use it at every opportunity:

"I've thought of a new verb for next year's dictionary... Sepulverized. Robopunter just Sepulverized that returner... That punt was Sepulverized about 60 yards..."

And this, from Israel, is hilarious:

I suggested [using the verb 'Sepulverized'] to Ed Bouchette after the HOF game, using both those examples. He told me to shut up and let him do the writing.

Nice. Which reminds me. From Bouchette's chat:

Q1: Are you on the Sepulveda train yet?

Ed Bouchette: I've never said he was not a good punter, just that the price was too high.

Q2: Has your opinion changed at all about the punter in the 4th round after what Sepulveda has shown? Gardocki was just so bad that he has to make an immediate impact.

Ed Bouchette: Here's something I don't understand: A punter who averages 47 yards is considered a potential Pro Bowler. One who averages 41 or 42 yards is not good enough. That's five or six yards difference per punt, and there are 4 or 5 punts perhaps on average in a game. that's maybe 20, 25 yards or one penalty tacked onto a 5-yard run.

Eddie's gotta let it go. A fourth-rounder isn't too high for a guy who can change field position. (Well, unless you're comparing him to Nathaniel Adibi or Fred Gibson ... those guys were so money.) And regarding his second answer ... well, that's just dumb. And I like Bouchette.