There has been a lot of news that has come down the pike this week regarding the Steelers that directly or indirectly involves them. Some of it seemed relevant, and some of it didn't. But given the time of year, it's much ado about nothing.
Word came down a few days ago that Mike Wallace won't sign his tender until he absolutely has to do so.
Um...ok. Who's that hurting?
The Steelers hired Todd Haley as the new offensive coordinator and he brought with him an entirely new offense. It would be in Wallace's best interests to show up, learn Haley's offense, and let his agent and the mighty Omar Khan work out the details of a long-term deal. Didn't Wallace learn anything from Hines Ward?
But Wallace will take his sweet time signing a one-year tender offer that will pay him $2.74 million in 2012.
This is especially idiotic when his own quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was asked what had changed with Haley's offense. “Everything," he said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Podcast. "The similarities would be on a shorter list. Off the top of my head, from what I've seen so far, there's a 90 percent change.”
Again, who's that hurting? Moving on.
We also found out that Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor underwent surgery to repair a torn chest muscle he injured while lifting weights. An injury which I myself endured once. A slight tear, 5%-10%, but a tear nonetheless.
Taylor tore his left pectoralis major while bench pressing during the offseason conditioning program last week at the team's facility. The Browns said the surgery ''went well'' and the 335-pound Taylor is recovering now.
The team did not provide a timetable for Taylor's return, but Browns coach Pat Shurmur said Taylor would need ''months, not weeks'' to recover. He would not, though, rule him out for this season.
These injuries typically take six months-to-a-year to heal. I had my right arm hanging and couldn't work without pain for approximately six months. Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson missed most of two whole seasons with torn pecs. So this is definitely something to watch.
Hard on the heels of the news of the Terrell Suggs torn Achilles injury we get news that Ed Reed has acknowledged contemplating retirement.
Let me just say this first: No Suggs + no Reed = no Ratbirds defense. Period. End of sentence. They are two of their three best defensive players, including Haloti Ngata, and arguably two of their three best players period.
Hours after getting that news, though, Reed was quoted as saying that he planned to continue to play football. "It's not about retirement, it's about my focus in the offseason, health, family and football," said Reed, who has had trouble with neck, hip, and shoulder injuries in recent years. "This is the time of year where players think through things. My goal is to play football in the years to come."
Reed, 33, went on to say where his focus is now. "A totally different focus now, trying to take care of my son, spend time with my son and my family," Reed said during the radio interview. "Other things have taken priority."
Reed can't be faulted for wanting to take of his family, but there's doubt that the Ravens organization would do everything but literally kiss his toes to keep in uniform. Their secondary suffers dramatically without him. His skillful play covered a multitude of sins the last two years, even while missing the first six games of '10, in that secondary. It's a secondary that certainly got better as the season progressed last year, but that would still suffer if he were to retire. So "will he or won't he?" is what Ravens and Steelers fans will be curious to find out.
Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported early on Friday that "Mike Adams and David DeCastro are NOT permitted to take part in any of the 10 OTAs. They will take part in mandatory minicamp June 12-14."
The OTAs (Organized Team Activities) aren't so much a need for entrenched veterans, but essential for rookies who are looking to get acclimated to the pro game. So, though it's early, we'll see if this has any early effects.
To close this out is like to encourage people to listen and subscribe to Lance Williams of Steel Curtain Radio. It's one of the best Steelers podcasts around and Big Swa always brings the real. You'll even get an earful of the Beastie Boys in the latest podcast.
As someone who has been interviewed by him as well as someone who spends his own time and resources to bring as much Steelers information, history and overall content as possible, I completely endorse subscribing to his podcast. You can also follow him on Twiiter at @SteelRadio and the Steel Curtain Radio group on Facebook. A link to his website steelcurtainradio.com is on the front page of our Blog. So, as Lance always says, "listen, tell a friend and subscribe." 'Nuff said.
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