2 Eastern PA verbal commitments

U of Pittsburgh just received this past week two more verbal commitments from the class of 2011. First one is from Harrisburg, PA powerhouse Bishop McDevitt coached by veteran Coach Jeff Weachter. The player is highly experienced Jameel Poteat. Poteat can play a multitude of positions. At 5'11"/205 Poteat is a solid running back for McDevitt who has the necessary speed to transfer his talent to running back at the collegiate level. But his skills do not stop there. He can catch the football, he has potential to become a free or strong safety, and his aggressive style of play could dictate him becoming a will linebacker in time. The other Eastern Pennsylvania recruit is athlete Terrell Chestnut from Pottstown, PA Pottsgrove High. Chestnut can play a variety of positions but after watching film on him I am sold on Chestnut as being a shut down corner. At 5'10"/185, Terrell Chestnut can back pedal with speed, flip his hips, and run with receivers. His ball skills are very good and he is willing to come up, make tackles, and support the run. Chestnut has been well coached by veteran Coach Rick Pennypacker. Pitt is doing an excellent job recruiting the Eastern part of PA. With the efforts of recruiting co-ordinator Bob Junko and TE Coach Brian Angelicho and OL Coach Tony Wyse doing the recruiting in Eastern PA, the Dave Wannstedt staff continues to make noise in the talent laden Eastern Pennsylvania region.

The next George Blanda

Is Brett Favre going to be the next George Blanda? Blanda is another in the long line of quarterbacks from the Western Pennsylvania region. Blanda is from Youngwood, PA which is between New Stanton and Greensburg. Blanda played professional football for 26 seasons until the age of 48. Favre will be 41 this October. When the season is over, Favre probably thinks outloud that I am finished. But once he relaxes, heals up, and spends time doing some non-football things, he is re-freshed and ready to come back. Favre, like numerous other NFL veterans, does not enjoy going to training camp. Training camp is vital for the preparation of the regular season. If the NFL shortens the pre-season to 2 contests, then training camp will probably be shortened and maybe the Spring OTA's will be made mandatory. As long as Brett Favre can run the offense, throw the ball with accuracy, and orchestrate the running game, then why should be retire. Favre can still take a pounding, he does not miss many plays, and basically he loves the game of football with a passion. Deep down inside, he wants a Super Bowl Ring with the Vikings. If he accomplishes that goal, then Brett Favre will probably hang up his spikes. But why get out of the game. I think Favre would be an excellent quarterback coach at the NFL or collegiate levels. He could be a guy like former Indianapolis Colts QB Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh is one of the elite coaches in college football with NFL Head Coach potential. That could be Brett Favre when he decides to retire.

Terrell to Chad

Born in Alexander City, AL, Terrell Owens entered UT Chattanooga in the early 1990's as a fledging swing man, a mix of forward and a big guard who was an effective rebounder and a scorer. A 6'3.5"/200 guy, Owens also was a track guy at UT Chattanooga. Being smart Terrell Owens opted to play football for the Moccasins of UTC and the rest is history. Owens will be 37 years old this early December and is in great physical condition. He still has real good top end speed but his take-off the line of scrimmage is not what it used to be. He comes out of his receiver breaks pretty well and more or less in his last few seasons has become a body pass catcher. His hands are not like they used to be and he uses his body to shield off smaller defender to make plays. He is about 220 now with a great reach but does not utilize that reach to his advantage like in prior years. Watching him closely, Owens has been dropping passes of late. He feels more comfortable catching the ball up against his body. Randy Moss is doing the same thing. Throwing him in the Bengals mix with Chad Johnson, Antonio Bryant, Matt Jones, and Andre Caldwell, the Bengals have some experienced good looking big wide outs. QB Carson Palmer has to get them the ball and the Bengals offensive line must protect Palmer with precise pocket assurance. Do not forget Carson Palmer had the serious knee injury a few season's ago vs. the Steelers and has lost some mobility. One thing Coach Marvin Lewis needs to accomplish is to not listen to the verbal rhetoric from Terrell Owens. The one positive is that Owens and Chad Johnson may neutralize themselves by rapping to each other on the sidelines. The other bright point of Owens is that he is a real good blocker in the secondary. If the Bengals develop a good running game, Owens can be a presence on running plays. The AFC North is becoming a talented conference. The Steelers can be real good when all is in order, the Ravens are on the RISE, if the Bengals can put it together, they can be dangerous, and the Browns may beat some teams they shouldn't. By the way, it is still not in me to call Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco. He will always he Chad Johnson to me. It would be like changing the name of your golf partner from John Doe to John Snowman because he shoots so many 8's on numerous golf holes.

Rookie Salary Cap

The NFLPA(National Football League Players Association)and the compliance departments from numerous East Coast schools have their work cut out for them prior to the beginning of the 2010 College Football Season. It has been reported on a player's Twitter page that some top prospects from colleges along the Eastern Seaboard have been seen at a party in Miami, Fl with reference to a sports agency sponsoring the party. The NFLPA rule for college players with eligibility is very simple: a college player with eligibility remaining can meet with an agent or someone from an agency but cannot accept anything of value or sign a contract with that agency until his final game is completed. Merely accepting a sandwich from a local hamburger chain is a violation as long as the player has eligibility remaining. Isn't this the norm where a few back door guys ruin IT for the large majority that follows the rules in not only the agent business but in many other areas. When the first choice in the draft is getting 39million guaranteed dollars like LSU QB JaMarcus Russell did, then the agencies feel that in order to get involved with a guy like this, they need to step it up a few notches. The maximum an agent can charge his client is 3% but you figure it out what 3% of 39 million is less the agencies expenses which can be substantial. Plus if the player becomes a superstar, then the agency may get involved into another huge contract(his second contract). It is not complicated. What is complicated to me is how much the NFL pays unproven rookies. A rookie Salary Cap needs to be established. Look how many flops there have been from the first round in the past 10 years. It is incredible. A rookie salary cap would open up more money for performance based payments to veterans that have had solid careers. God Bless QB Sam Bradford from Oklahoma for he may pull in 43 to 45 million guaranteed dollars from the St. Louis Rams before he steps out onto the field for his first regular season game. Plus do not forget, Sam Bradford had a serious injury to his throwing shoulder which sidelined him the latter half of the past season. Not to deprive rookies of signing bonuses and salaries, but it looks to me that a Rookie Salary Cap is an excellent business decision.

Cheerleading

There are varying degrees of professional opinions on whether Cheerleading is classified a Sport or a school activity. A dictionary definition of a Sports is as follows: an activity usually involving physical exertion and having a set form and body of rules, a game. Does cheerleading follow this definition? Answer is no. To me, a guy who has been active in sports through coaching and scouting, is that sports and athletic events, which basically are games, is defined by one short statement, when you keep score it is classified a competitive sport. No score is kept in cheerleading. But there exists competitive cheerleading events amongst schools and group of schools. Cheerleading is an excellent activity. In schools today, it is very organized, highly competitive, and the girls at the high school level work hard as a unit. In matter of fact, starting mid-August, these young ladies get up early, practice hard, runs laps, lift weights, and work out with intensity getting ready for the season. Least we forget, cheerleading is not strictly designed for football only. Cheerleading encompasses the entire high school sports season. It carries over into basketball and sometimes into the spring sports including both men and women sports. It can be grueling and the girls need to be in tip top physical condition and maintain excellent standards of flexibility. The cheerleading coaches at the high school level put in a tremendous amount of time and energy but their pay is not that spectacular. The cheerleading coaches do it for the love of the activity. Cheerleaders and the staff members deserves a tremendous amount of credit and recognition for the positive enthusiasm and great outlook that cheerleaders and the school band possess no matter if there team is losing or winning.

Western PA. Quarterbacks

Steve Sabol of NFL Films has put together a segment on the Top 100 Players of all time in the National Football League. With a tremendous amount of research and detailed discussions with the right people close to the game, this Top 100 of all time can be fairly accurate. John Steigerwald's JustWatchTheGame Blog has a segment on this. John's piece is very interesting to say the least. I would have to agree with John that MLB Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears may be the best and most dominate player of all time on the defensive side of the ball. 2 running backs were just off the chart in Bears Walter Payton and the Lions Barry Sanders. Another player that probably in there is RB Earl Campbell from the Houston Oilers. On the flip side, this can be difficult to accomplish. The speed of the game since the late 1970's has been the most noticeable difference in this great game and also the size and agility of the big guys. I hope OLB from the Steelers Jack Ham is on the list for he is a player that would be able to play at any time. Just my opinion, but my top QB of all time would be Monongahela, PA Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers. He is another in the long lines of products out of this region that produced some of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Joe Namath from Beaver Falls, Dan Marino from Pittsburgh Central Catholic, and John Unitas of Mount Oliver who developed in the sandlot leagues in this area. Why has Pennsylvania especially Western Pennsylvania produced so many good quarterbacks? There has to be a reason for this. Least we forget Jim Kelly who was born in Pittsburgh but played his high school football in the Western PA community of East Brady.

Flaccotime

Recruited by the Walt Harris staff at the U. of Pittsburgh, Joe Flacco signed with Pitt back in February, 2003 coming from Audubon, NJ High School. Flacco rarely played at Pitt in his 2 year stint for the Panthers. I caught a glimpse of Joe Flacco in the Pitt Spring Game at Heinz field in April, 2004. I watched him take the snap from under center, makes his 3, 5, and 7 step drops and throw from the shotgun and I also said WOW! I told myself this guy has talent, now I know why Walt Harris recruited him. Flacco played behind solid Pitt QB Tyler Palko and opted to transfer after the 2004 season. Flacco played for the U of Delaware in 2006 and 2007 and now after being the 18th overall choice in the 2008 NFL draft, he plays for Steelers rival Baltimore Ravens. Joe Flacco has the talent to be a very effective QB in the league. The important cog for Flacco's success are these 5 guys, Jared Gaither, Tony Moll, Matt Birk, Marshall Yanda, Michael Oher, and a few more Offensive linemen that may crack the line-up. Baltimore Offensive linemen need to play lights out this season not only to administer the running game but to paas protect for Joe Flacco. The Ravens have bolstered their receiving corp by adding Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth. The Ravens receivers had a lot of key drops in 2009 and remember the one wide open Derrick Mason had vs. the Steelers in the end zone. It was handed to him on a platter and he still dropped it. This is a huge season for Joe Flacco and the Ravens. What a great rivalry the Ravens-Steelers games have become. Sunday October 3rd with a 1 PM starting time will be a very interesting Ravens Steelers game even without Big Ben playing.

Central Catholic Grad

What a great guy Marc Bulger is! Marc Bulger is now the back-up quarterback to Joe Flacco for the Baltimore Ravens. I remember his high school days at Pittsburgh Central Catholic when he was a thin 6'2"/170 on the Rise QB that had a live arm and threw with tremendous accuracy for the Central Catholic Vikings. He accepted a scholarship to play for the Mountaineers of West Virginia, built up his body to 215 pounds, and had an admirable career for WVU. He was a sixth round selection in the 2000 NFL draft at pick number 168 to the New Orleans Saints. The Steelers chose late in the fifth round a QB named Tee Martin from Tennessee just 5 picks ahead of Bulger. Later in that same draft New England chose in the sixth round a guy named Tom Brady from Michigan at pick number 186. Getting back to Marc Bulger, I have known him for numerous years. While playing at WVU, Marc came and worked my football camp in the Spring for a few years and did an excellent job working with the quarterbacks. Bulger is a very hard worker, is a very positive guy, enjoys playing the game, and is pleasant to be around. He comes from an excellent athletic family. His father Jim played QB at Notre Dame. Marc Bulger holds an NFL record that many fans are not aware of. The record is that no other QB in the NFL had 1000 completions faster than Marc Bulger during his playing days at St. Louis. He did this in 45 games. Marc is another in the long lines of QB's that have come out of this Western PA region and have had success in college and the NFL.

18 games

There is going to be a lot of talk amongst the NFL Owners at the next owner's meeting about lengthening the regular football season to 18 games and cutting the pre-season to 2 contests. The players union(NFLPA)will lobby for more money in the paycheck and this may be well deserved. They will lobby for an increase in the rosters and this should probably happen and the numbers of players may increase from 53 to 59 maybe 60. But I think the one huge item that the NFLPA will lobby for if the season is increased to 18 regular season games is a shorter training camp. Some teams are in camp for 4 weeks. That is a long time for 2 a days in the heat and humidity. The way to solve this problem is to lengthen the OTA's in the late Spring and make them mandatory. OTA's are Organized Team Activities that occur basically in late May and run through the middle of June. Shoulder pads, helmets, skill work, coaching, no live scrimmaging. The players come out of the OTA's and they are ready to go in terms of skill work and mental preparation. With mandatory OTA's, the potential exists to shorten training camp. Believe me, the coaches are intelligent evaluators of talent. They know who is good and who can make the roster in a short period of time. 2 pre-season games is more than enough. College football jumps right into a regular season game with only banging heads against their own players. Like I said about a month ago, the Super Bowl played in New York City may be played in early March with an 18 game regular season. I can hear the lawn mowers humming all the way from Latrobe here in the South Hills in preparation for the arrival of the Steeler's and their nation on July 30.

Oakmont C.C. is one tough course

Paula Creamer deserves a tremendous amount of credit for finishing 3 under par (281) on one of the most difficult golf courses around anywhere that is Oakmont Country Club on Hulton Road 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Years ago one of my close friends Mr. Bill Banks would take 3 of his good friends out to Oakmont every year for about 15 straight summers. Of course these 3 guys are Mr. John Steigerwald, Mr. Jack Donahue, the infamous Wheezer a former bartender at the heralded Saloon of Mount Lebanon, and myself. I remember the first year we played that I was so nervous that I had nightmares the night before could not relax while playing. When I got on a roll the greens drove me crazy. The caddy would tell me to put over here and I would say are you sure about that line. Consequently, I stunk that day shooting in the mid 90's, I think John Stag played fairly well, and the Wheezer played like Angelo Spagnola while the member Mr. Banks played nice and steady. Mr. Bill Banks kept saying the course is not that hard. I believed him to a certain degree. But as the years wore on in to the early 90's and beyond, my rational thinking told me that Oakmont was getting easier. Fortunately for me, the final time I played Oakmont C.C. I shot an 80, birdied the unrealistically hard first hole, and I felt so comfortable reading the greens and developing a touch for the speed of the greens that I had the utmost confidence that day. I will tell you this, I could never do that again. John Stag played steady golf all those years and the Wheezer really improved his scores at Oakmont. My question to all of those that have played Oakmont, which is the easier 9 holes, the front or the back. I say the back is easier with Number 10 and 18 being off the chart hard from tee to green.

51 and 25 to be .500

*****Getting back to the Pirates, they are 30-56 as the All Star break is upon us. The Pirates are last in the league in batting average and 2 from the bottom in team ERA. Pedro Alvarez is showing some promise but needs to be somewhat more patient at the plate for he swings at some bad pitches. After 86 games, not one starting pitcher has a complete game. Could this be a major league record? *****Is the off season injury loss of Willie Colon going to be disruptive to the Steelers running game? You better believe it. Former OL Coach Larry Zeirlein called Colon one of the best run blockers in the entire NFL. The Steelers this year have a mandate to run the football and losing Colon will hurt. *****Just remember, when the first day of the month is on a Sunday, then that month will have a Friday the 13th. *****I have noticed that the BP Station near my home is way off in gasoline sales. I wonder why?*****With 20 days remaining until Training Camp begins, Pittsburgh will be without services of Big Ben(4-6 games), Willie Colon for entire 2010 season, Santonio Holmes traded to the Jets. Read back on my previous blog about Steelers signing Alan Faneca. It would look good now without Colon. Arizona OL Coach Russ Grimm still thinks he has gas left in his tank. He could play left OT and move Max Starks to Colon's slot or RT or move Trai Essex to RT and Faneca to RG. Too late now, he is with the Arizona Cardinals and who knows what will happen there.

LBJ wants back in Power

LBJ going to the Miami Heat to team up with Chris Bosh and Dewayne Wade. Then you have southpaw Michael Beasley from Kansas State and Point Guard Mario Chalmers from Kansas as their potential starting line-up. I think LeBron James will become a chemistry player with the Heat. What does this mean? LeBron will change his game a little. In Cleveland, he was a scorer, shooter, slashing type driver, take the ball coast to coast, follow others shot for explosive throw back dunks, and he worked the perimeter hard. I really believe in Miami, he may change his game to adapt to the style of his teammates. Over his career, one stat sticks in my mind, that is he averaged 7 rebounds per game. He is a 6'8"/260 pound explosive athlete with a 7 foot wing span who has great timing and plays with aggression. His role may change to become a combo forward rather than a 2nd guard. I think LeBron has the potential to be a great rebounder and pull down minimum 10 boards a game. Instead of handling the ball coast to coast, the Heat should kick it out to either Dewayne Wade or Chalmers and have LeBron fill the lanes with his great speed. Few realize this but LeBron is a real good shot blocker. His game in Miami may drift to the inside, come off screens and receive the first pass from the point guard or the second pass from Wade. Less dribble, more power, more interior physical play, more rejections, and become a great rebounder which he is capable of doing. Everyone knows he is excellent on the perimeter and has powerful quick slashing moves to the bucket but not many realize what a great rebounder he is and can become. Let's go back in time when Wilt the Stilt flipped his game around when he joined the Lakers by setting screens, becoming an assist guy, boxing out, and rebounding like crazy with less scoring. Playing with Dewayne Wade and high post skilled guy Chris Bosh, that gives LeBron the latitude to be explosive inside. Editor's quick note: Miami Heat Power Forward Michael Beasley just got traded to Minnesota to open some cap room

You kiddin' me? Five first rounders

The NFL scouts will be banging on the University of Pittsburgh South Side Complex door come this Fall and through next Spring. Pitt has the potential of having 5 first round selections in the 2011 NFL Draft. How can this be? 2 seniors have first round grades by National going into their senior season. They are the bookend Defensive Ends Greg Romeus, 6'5"/267 and Jabaal Sheard, 6'3"/260. Then another Senior Jason Pinkston 6'3.5"/312 OT/OG from Pittsburgh, PA Baldwin High School has a high level 2nd round grade. Pinkston has lots of upside to position himself into the first round. Where do the other 2 first rounders come into play. They are 3rd year Junior Jonathan Baldwin 6'5"/230 wide out from Aliquippa H.S. who has a great future and if he decides to test the waters of the NFL draft, he may be a top 20 choice. The last guy is Sophomore Running Back Dion Lewis. Lewis attended Blair Academy in New Jersey before enrolling at Pitt so he will have 3 seasons out of high school which makes him eligible for the draft. Wow! Lewis is a very explosive running back who has excellent acceleration, change of direction and runs with power. This Western Pennsylvania region back 3 and 4 decades used to pump Offensive Linemen into the NFL. During the 2009 NFL season, only 1 Western PA Offensive lineman was active in the entire league. That Guy was South Park High School's Reggie Wells who had a stellar career at Clarion U of PA and started in Arizona's Super Bowl loss to the Steelers. Let's give credit to Dave Wannstedt and his coaching staff for recruiting some very talented players to attend Pitt.

A Unique Group

There are 2 scouting services that some of the NFL teams subscribe to that many fans are not aware of. They are National, which is based out of Tulsa, OK. and the other is BLESTO, which used to be based out of Pittsburgh, PA headed out by former Pittsburgh Steeler Defensive Back from years ago named Jack Butler. Mr Jack Butler retired a few years back and subsequently BLESTO moved its headquarters to Jacksonville, FL. The scouts from these 2 organizations go into many of the 699-4 year football colleges and look for prospects in the Junior Class, that is prospects that will be Seniors in the Fall who's eligibility will be completed. Like I said above, some of the NFL teams subscribe to these and some do not. The ones that do not, send their own scouts out to the colleges. This work is basically done in the early Spring of each year and sometimes coincides with the scouts finalizing information of the draft eligible seniors. Instead of BLESTO or National hiring their own individual scouts, the teams that subscribe to the services utilize their own scouts to work for BLESTO and National. Each NFL team has approximately 10 scouts. This is a very unique group of men who by the nature of this business favor the conservative evaluation. 32 NFL teams with about 10 scouts per team. This equates to a total of 320 NFL scouts in the entire world. This is a unique group. Next time I will discuss the talent level that the Pitt Panthers possess for the 2010 season and 2011 NFL Draft. By the way, it is not a perfect system. 2 players I mentioned on earlier Blogs in Late March and Early April were OLB Arthur Moats from James Madison and ILB Josh Hull from Penn State. National gave Moats a low level free agent grade and he played tremendous his Senior season at JMU and became the 179th selection by the Buffalo Bills. Keep an eye on Moats for he could be like a James Harrison type. Penn State's Josh Hull was not even listed by National which means he probably received a rejected grade. Josh Hull had a great Senior season for the Nittany Lions and got drafted in the 7th round by the St. Louis Rams. On the flip side, Ole Miss DE Greg Hardy was rated a top 5 pick based on his Junior campaign and dropped all the way to the 6th round. Players need to play every play like there is no tomorrow.

Summer Quarterback

Here it is the 5th of July, 2 weeks after the longest day of the year and just 25 days until Pittsburgh opens training camp. 3 quarterbacks are making and going to make the sports pages interesting for some to read about in weeks to come. First is Big Ben on the outside looking in with his 4 maybe 6 game suspension. After his one-on-one interviews with Bob Pompeani and Sally Wiggin, it makes me wonder were they worth even doing. My philosophy here is real simple: actions speak louder than words. Big Ben, no matter what you say, you have to show it and do it. Next is the southpaw from Newport News VA and VA Tech, Michael Vick. I think most football fans are worn out hearing about the escapades of Michael Vick. Nothing would surprise me on the investigation for his whereabouts during his 30th birthday party celebration. Remember just 3 years ago while Vick was free on bail on his Interstate Dog Trafficking charge, Vick tested positive for marijuana in a random drug test. This was a violation of the conditions of his release while awaiting sentencing in federal court for his felony conviction. His NFL jersey at one time was one of the hottest sellers in the league along with Big Ben's. Vick is 30 years old and has a ton of football ahead of him. But is he going to be around to play this game in the NFL? And then to continuing saga of Brett Favre. Favre turns 41 this 2010 season if he plays. Many fans have filed verbal complaints about the press time Favre soaked up during the summers of 2008 and 2009. The publicity on Favre this summer will not be the same as it was in the past. I think Favre is going to play this 2010 season for Minnesota. Favre has a record that is incredible with 309 consecutive starts(including playoffs). He has a record which some fans may deem meaningless but to me is an interesting record. Favre has 37 touchdown passes of only 1 yard. Another record he possesses is a negative for Favre. Brett Favre has 30 interceptions in playoff games(ouch). Last but not least, Favre is the first known active NFL player to be a proud grandfather at the age of 40. As we all know, the best philosophy is to take one day at a time.

Countdown Begins

The countdown has begun. Only a mere 27 days until the Pittsburgh Steelers begin training camp. St. Vincent College is an excellent place to run a training camp. The field space is terrific and the fields are manicured well. It has an amphitheater type setting where the Steeler Nation can bring their blankets, their picnic baskets, and their entire families to sit on the hillside and watch the Steelers practice. It is amazing how people from across the entire country will show up at training camp. Why do the people in this region and across the nation and even worldwide have such a love affair with the Pittsburgh Steelers? It is real simple: the Steelers win! The Steelers have played in 7 Super Bowls with the first victory coming on January 12, 1975 and have an outstanding Super Bowl record of 6 wins and 1 loss. In the last 35 football seasons, the Steelers have participated in 7 Super Bowl. In the last 35 years, they are on a 20%Super Bowl participation rate which is incredible considering there are 32 teams in the NFL and some of these franchises have never participated in the Super Bowl. The Steelers administrative personnel have been top notch, the coaching has been superb, and the scouting department is doing a very thorough job. The scouting department is really grinding it out finding some way down"Under the Radar" undrafted free agent players that have developed into integral components of the team. It is real simple, this organization knows how to win.