Days 1 and 2

Interesting stuff in the first 2 days of the NFL Draft. 14 Defensive Tackles taken in the first 95 selections, 13 corners drafted in the top 95, and 9 Offensive tackles selected in this group. Big hulking athletic defensive linemen are hard to find in the world of football and if there are some out there, they will probably get selected in the NFL draft. 6'6"/295 pound DT Cameron Heyward certainly is one of them and the Steelers snapped him up quickly when their first rounder selection came onto the Big Board. Heyward has the versatility the Steelers like. He can play a 4-3 defense DT or he can play 3-4 defense position like Aaron Smith does. He can play the run well and put pressure on the QB from the DT slot. A real good consistent pass rush certainly can make a defensive back's job easier. Out of the 95 selections, only 3 came from non Division 1A schools. They were in the second round OT Benjamin Ijalana from Villanova who is an athletic OT who dominated at the 1AA level. Another 1AA offensive linemen came from Lehigh U. in Will Rackley, a big hulking athletic guard who went in the third round. And the other 1AA draft choice was huge DT from Hampton University named Kendrick Ellis who transferred to Hampton from U. of South Carolina. I watched Kendrick Ellis train for the draft this winter here in Pittsburgh. Ellis is a big strong road grader defensive lineman that NFL teams embellish. When it is all said and done, there will be approximately 15 to 20 players drafted that are not from NCAA Division 1A programs

Here we Go!

Here we go! The 2011 NFL Draft is upon us. Now the chess game begins for the 32 NFL teams.

I must be asked 5 times a day, who are the Steelers going to take in the draft this Thursday night or very early Friday morning. Being from this Western Pennsylvania region for a long time and following the Steelers closely along with the other 31 NFL teams, I think the Steelers should take Corner from Colorado talented Jimmy Smith if he is available at #31. If he is selected before pick number 31, then with my humble opinion, I would look to trade the pick and move down in the draft attempting to get an extra 2nd rounder and an extra 3rd rounder if this is possible. There are a multitude of good players between player number 31 and player number 100. There are some good corners out there like Aaron Williams from Texas but he may go late in the 1st round or the corner from Ohio State or the corner from Clemson. Sometimes you can steal a player in the 2nd round that should have been a first round selection. So acquiring extra choices in the 2nd and even the third rounds, you can find your players on the RISE. OT Marcus Cannon could be available in the second round as could OG/OC Rodney Hudson from Florida State. Kevin Colbert and company have been patient in the draft before and patience may pay off this year. Later in the draft the Steelers may look at OT Chris Hairston from Clemson for example. As always, the draft is very interesting but it can hold the key to a team's future

Spare Me The Agony

Again, another example of paralysis by over-analysis. Pity Texas Christian U(TCU) QB Andy Dalton for being a red-head. Some NFL scouts and coaches are saying that a QB with red hair has never made it big in the NFL. Dalton is a talented guy with the potential of being a pretty high choice in this upcoming draft, but the NFL evaluators are talking about his red hair. Andy Dalton must have forgot to talk to former Oklahoma linebacker and former NFL #1 draft pick Brian Bosworth about dyeing his hair to the color of white....Everywhere you go now-a-days people are discussing the price of fuel especially the high rising price of gasoline. It just like happened over-night going from 2.85 a gallon for regular unleaded to 3.85 a gallon in our region. The independent truck drivers have to be fed up with the high rising cost of diesel fuel. If the prices of fuel do not level off here soon, you may see these independent truckers blocking the interstates like they did back in the middle of George W Bush's second term....Do the Pittsburgh Pirates have a chance to win 81 games this season under Manager Clint Hurdle. Are we as fans asking a lot for the Pirates to go .500? So far in this early start of 8 and 10, the Buccos have had some scoreless streaks of 22 innings or more. Let's keep our fingers crossed. 18 years in succession of non-winning baseball is wearing the Pittsburgh fans out.

Let's Get on With It

The NFL draft is coming up here faster than you think. What do the Steelers need in this draft? I think the Pittsburgh Steelers should draft some really good players that can play the game of football. How about that for a statement. Draft "Football Players". Do the Black 'n Gold need a quarterback? Probably not but I would like to see them get a 21 or 22 guy and develop him for the future. Do the Steelers need a running back? Possibly but sometimes you can find real good running backs late in the draft or as undrafted free agents. Do the Steelers need a TE? No, this is a solid position. Do the Steelers need wide receivers? Probably not but if a great one comes along, you probably need to look at him. Do the Black 'n Gold need Offensive Linemen? Just my opinion, a team can always use quality offensive linemen. The O-line has had injuries and Coach Kugler has done a marvelous job with the O-line, but they should look at the 2011 draft as a means of getting some offensive linemen. Does Pittsburgh need defensive linemen? Maybe not this draft but shortly down the road they will. Do the Steelers need linebackers? This is a real good position for them but the Steelers like numerous NFL teams like to draft these hybrid players, DE/OLB types, who can run and makes plays and help on special teams. Do the Steelers need defensive backs. I say Yes. Why? because great defensive backs are hard to find especially shut down corners. With the way teams are throwing the football, you need a multitude of quality defensive backs. Do the Black 'n Gold needs any kickers? Maybe a punter not because Sepulveda is not good but because he has had some unfortunate injuries. The NFL Draft is fun to watch. Let's get on with it before each team gets the old football scouts famous quote "paralysis by over-analysis."

What do Black and Gold need?

The 2011 NFL Draft is quickly approaching. There seems to be less interest in the Draft than in previous years and this is an offshoot of the Lockout that is occurrng right now. Amongst all my friends that love the Great Game of football, there is very little discussion about the draft. There are 254 selections in this 2011 draft including compensatory picks and the Pittsburgh Steelers have 7 choices coming up in late April. I am asking the football fans that read this blog and also read John Steigerwald's Just Watch The Game Blog, what do the Super Bowl Runner-Up Steelers need in this draft. The experts say this draft is somewhat weaker compared to the 2010 draft and this may have occurred due because many Juniors entered the 2010 draft due to the impending Lockout. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the 31st choice in the First Round. Come on Nationwide Steeler fans, what do the Black and Gold need for the hopefully 2011 season?

Cannot wait any Longer

What do these pollsters look at when they decide to formulate a final poll on the Men's Basketball season. For obvious reasons, Connecticut is the number one team in college basketball. But not to smash the Butler Bulldogs just because they were in the National Championship Game and did not play well at all, does that mean that the 28 and 10 Butler Bulldogs should be number 2 in the Polls. In my opinion the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Kentucky Wildcats should be number 2. In some polls, Ohio State got votes for the number 1 position. What about Kansas? During their game vs Virginia Commonwealth, their shooting was pathetic and got upset by the Shaka Smart coached team. This is what makes the NCAA Basketball Tournament very interesting. So as sports fans, do we not think that College Football should have a tournament like basketball does. The BCS has gotten away with this long enough. We all know the Bowl Games are very powerful and have a contract set up until 2014, but it is time for a post season football tournament. People would be filling out brackets for football as much as they do for basketball. A BCS 16 team football playoff or tournament would be incredible. So what are the powers waiting for?

Monday Nite Hoops

Tell me hoop fans, what really did happen in the Monday night contest between the Butler Bulldogs and the Connecticut Huskies.. The time the game commenced was 9:36PM. 9:36PM is way too late for an East Coast start time. I know both teams were playing solid defense but the shooting was atrocious. Butler was 12 for 64 from the field. This was one of the most ungainly games ever played. Butler stalwart Matt Howard, a 6'8"/235 pound Power Forward was 1 for 16 from the field. Butler shot an uneventful 18.8%. I do not care how much defense is being played, that stat is just plain bad. Butler scored a total of 41 points for the game with 19 coming in the second half. The way Butler had been playing in the previous 5 NCAA games, they should have scored 41 points in one period alone. You know nerves can be distraction early in the contest, but not once the game swings into gear. And you know the Pitt Panthers were holding their heads in their hands because Pitt had 1 1 point lead on the Butler Bulldogs with 8 seconds remaining in the game to get to the Sweet 16. But UConn and the Big East ring up another Championship