Steelers Sign LB Arthur Moats To Strengthen Thin Corps

"I don't want to see anybody hurting and not playing any more....But if he doesn't, and I was the guy to end the streak, all right. That's a little notable, yeah." - http://tinyurl.com/ln2592u

The notable hit in question was to now retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre when the then-Buffalo Bills' linebacker Arthur Moats hit him on the third play from scrimmage in the December 5, 2010 contest against the Minnesota Vikings. He hit him so hard that it ended Favre's streak of NFL starts at 297 consecutive games. 

Moats hit him so hard that Favre even started spelling his own name correctly. 

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Mr. Moats. 

Per Steelers beat writer Gerry Dulac, the Steelers brass had met with Moats before they headed off to Orlando, Florida. 

They have signed him to a one-year contract to strengthen a thin, especially on the outside, linebacking corps. The terms of Moats' deal are $795,000 in total - $730,000 in salary with a $65,000 signing bonus - making them almost even with the NFL Salary Cap (maybe having approximately $250,000 or so to spare) depending on the terms of the Lance Moore deal.

Moats started 12 games at weak-side linebacker for the Bills last season and also played inside at the Buck. Word is that he can play either inside or outside in all four LB positions for the Steelers’ 3-4 defense. 

That is exactly the type of player the Steelers covet: tough, yet position flexible. 

The 26-year-old Moats was selected out of James Madison in the sixth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He ran an official 4.64/40 at that year's combine, but his fastest time was a 4.54/40. The 6'0", 250 pounder will be a major contributor on special teams, also. 

At the NFL Meetings in Orlando over the weekend, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke of running back Le'Veon Bell as being "a talented player but a young player. It would be good to get a been-there, done-that type of guy in the room to maybe help him with growth and development."

The same can be said of the Steelers 2013 first-round draft pick, OLB Jarvis Jones. Jones showed flashes of real promise at the end of the season, so a "been-there, done-that" Moats can help in that maturation. 

Moats' addition likely signals the end of the 'James Harrison return' talk, and make the Steelers linebackers group one of the youngest in the league. 

The Fall And Rise Of The Black Quarterback: Past, Present And Future

I'd heard the descriptions and the arguments for Jerrod Johnson going into the Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 Training Camp: his mobility, his size (6' 5" 250lbs.), that he is a great athlete, that he set a Big 12 record for throwing 242 consecutive passes without an interception and that he was a Heisman candidate who got sidetracked by an injury.

There was one thing, though, I hadn't heard about him: he is Black.

Part of that is my fault for not being better aware. Not that I have to mention this, but most of your quarterbacks throughout college and pro history have looked like dollar bills. Still, it made me think: not once had I heard about him being a Black quarterback. Is that a step forward?

The more I thought about it the more it made me curious about the overall perception of the Black QB and even if the term needs to be used anymore. In August of last year, my partner wrote an article called "The NFL, The Rooneys and Racism." In it he wrote, "...and we won't even touch on the 'Blacks can't play quarterback' nonsense." - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2011/08/nfl-rooneys-and-racism.html

Well, I think it's time to touch on it.

(Aside: In that article, my partner mistakenly wrote that the Pittsburgh Steelers' Lowell Perry became the first Black coach in the NFL in 1957. It was actually Fritz Pollard in 1921, which we'll actually cover briefly coming up.)

In all sports there was a time when the Black race was excluded in one way or another. Gradually, whether via governmental legislation, a change in social climate, common sense or the almighty dollar, that would eventually go away. But in no other sport has there been the type resistance to the playing of a position.

Whether it was the pitcher or the shortstop in baseball or the point guard in basketball, there hasn't been the same kind of impedance to the Black man playing quarterback. Most kickers and punters out there are white, but you never hear about the plight of the Black kicker/punter.

Why? The main reason was that it's the glamour position and because of a belief in a lack of the needed intelligence to play the position. To that I say hogwash! Have you seen who the POTUS is? No matter your political beliefs, you have to be mighty doggone smart to be the president. (Even when your last name is Bush.)

Are there certain factors that may contribute to the Black QB having less success? Yes. They're institutional, societal, and scientific (as well as somewhat environmental. None of them, though, are completely valid. At least not as an argument for saying the Black man can't be ultimately successful at the highest level. Let's look at the history of it and from this point going forward.

The Past ~

The first Black QB on record in the NFL was Fritz Pollard who was mentioned earlier. He was also a halfback who became player/head coach, or co-head coach, also the first in NFL history, depending on the source you quote. Ours are BlackAthlete.net, The Coffin Corner and Ezine Articles. Here's part one to a detailed history on the subject, some of which was used in the research for our "racism" article, that I encourage you to continue to examine: http://tinyurl.com/9jtr7hp

Due to racial attitudes and institution restrictions of the time, not many Black players were allowed to fully exploit their abilities. Pollard was a star in Track and football at Brown University, even becoming the first Black man to play in the Rose Bowl. - http://tinyurl.com/8hssdmh

Pollard would be the last starting QB pro football would see until 1968 when the Denver Broncos of the AFL put Marlin Briscoe under center. And it would be almost 50 years before the NFL would see another Black signal caller.

James Harris of the Buffalo Bills got the opportunity to start an NFL game, albeit an inauspicious one, as a rookie in 1969. It was the Los Angeles Rams, though, who presented the NFL with the first Black QB to start a playoff game in 1974: James Harris.

Still, though, with there being five decades separating having the chance to prove their abilities, stereotypes and stigmas became entrenched in the minds of many that it was too cerebral of a position for the Black man to succeed.

There were, and continually so for a long time thereafter, general managers and owners and, to some degree, coaches who believed whites were better quarterbacks. Engrained institutional and societal reasons were at play. There certainly are very specific traits and/or qualities needed to play the position at the highest level: Leadership, being able to make quick decisions, pocket presence, confidence, intelligence, throwing accuracy, etc... For the longest time the image of the "golden boy" was insidiously pervasive.

Do white QBs perform better in these areas than Black QBs. One could argue that perhaps. If you wanted to take it there, you could cite the historical difference in SAT scores between white and Black students if you wanted to claim a lack of intelligence. A gap that's narrowing, by the way.

The problem with that, though, is you'd be ignoring a greater societal issue. For centuries the Black race was conditioned to believe just that. That they were less intelligent and not as able to shoulder such weights. When something is beaten into you, literally and figuratively, for so long, you start to believe it. You're also saying that Blacks aren't smart enough to be leaders.

Duke Professor Ashleigh Shelby Rosette went further in explaining this paradox. She said that "the stereotype that Black athletes are not intellectually equal to their white counterparts clashes with typical positive leadership characteristics. Yet people are motivated to view successfull leaders in a positive light. To reconcile this contradiction, Black quarterbacks are viewed as great athletes instead of great leaders when their teams win. But when they lose, people focus on their lack of leadership instead of their athleticism; Black quarterbacks are seen as bad leaders, not bad athletes." - http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/news_events/releases/quarterbacks-leadership/#.UF5yG7e9Kc0

In fact, for over half of the life of the NFL, the Black player was directly or indirectly told he wasn't smart enough to lead. Really?

Fritz Pollard, mentioned earlier, was a Brown University graduate, was a head coach in the NFL and pursued a career in business and was a successful entrepreneur after retiring from the league...and I'm supposed to believe a man like that can't read a defense?

Like I said, when you're told something long enough, you start to believe it. Case in point: Mike Howell.

In 1988, legendary Grambling St. coach Eddie Robinson told Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press a story regarding his quarterback. He said that Howell told him that he wanted reps in the secondary because "I'm not going into the NFL as a Black quarterback." - http://mitchalbom.com/d/journalism/554/eddie-robinson-sees-dream-come-alive

That isn't just a one-sided thing, either. Football coaches, especially at the high school level, teach from what they know: tradition and experience. Their leadings have an affect, not only on the players they coach, but also on the magazines and websites that promote those players/prospects. Want proof? Look at the difference between the Top 15 "pro style" QBs and the Top 15 "dual threat" QBs for 2012 according to Rivals.com:

The Present ~

One could make the argument that there are many more Black athletes with premiere quickness and explosiveness, thus their dominating the the "skill" positions. Scientists report that Blacks have more fast twitch muscle fibers than whites and a more favorable center of gravity. Most sports favor athletes with quickness and explosiveness. Blacks, therefore, dominate most (American) sports.

Does this mean, though, that a Black athlete can't succeed as quarterback at the highest level? Not at all.

Even though there were QBs who did use their atheticism to their advantage and had a ran first, pass second mentality, Randall Cunningham, Kordell Stewart and Michael Vick as examples, there were also those who were and are "pro style" passers, Warren Moon, the late Steve McNair (known as "Air McNair" in college, though he did use his athleticism more in the NFL to advance his team to the Super Bowl) and Doug Williams (the first and only Black QB to win a Super Bowl).

Black males have been always been praised for their physical prowess and other endowments, while their white counterparts have been acknowledged for their intellect and work ethic. Perfect examples are Vince Young and Tim Tebow. Virtually the same quarterback in many ways, one has simply received more accolades than the other. Maybe it's like what Jamie Foxx said in "Any Given Sunday" after all: http://youtu.be/n9BD0BXIKU8

Still, Black QBs have flourished once given adequate chance. Period. The fact that Blacks weren't even allowed to regularly play the position until well into the 1980s can't be ignored. If you had a fifty year head start, you'd be behind the curve too. Will that be used as an excuse? No! Which leads us to...

The Future ~

Nothing you could tell me could make me believe the Black man doesn't have the intelligence or capacity to lead. I see it in the one who sits in the Oval Office. Even though they don't start, I see it with my beloved Steelers in the backups entrusted to step in if Ben Roethlisberger cannot-one of whom, Charlie Batch, will assuredly coach one day. And I see it every weekend in the future of NFL QBs across the country. The likes of Washington's Keith Price, Clemson's Tajh Boyd and my West Virginia Mountaineers' very own Geno Smith.

Washington quarterback Keith Price is easily the second best QB in the Pac-12. Last season he passed for 3,063 yards with 33 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. This season he's already led his Huskies to a win over No. 8 Stanford.

The ACC is filled with talented QBs and Clemson's Tajh Boyd is the best of them all. Last year he threw for 3,828 yards with 33 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and has a chance to improve on those numbers this year with talented weapons at his disposal. A 4,000 yard and 35 touchdown season is a strong possibility for Boyd.

Lastly, Geno Smith. He was spectacular in all facets of the game in 2011. He had 4,385 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He has tremendous poise and pocket presence. He's the undisputed leader of the team and might have more weapons on offense than anybody in the country. Especially if he can lead the Mountaineers to 10 or 11 wins, Geno is a legitimate Heisman contender. - http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8440471

If so, he'd be in good company. The last two Heisman Trophy winners and three of the last six have been Black QBs: Troy Smith (2006), Cam Newton ('10) and Robert Griffin III ('11). Though, Smith hasn't panned out, the future is very bright for both Newton and RGIII.

Those aren't the only ones, either. The landscape of the quarterback position is evolving to include a QB who can run AND has a pocket presence that allows him to know when to stay that extra nanosecond to deliver an accurate pass. And the college ranks are full of such players-both white and Black. Though still not immensely predicated on those fast twitch muscle fibers to make an immediate physical decision, the ability to do so has always been an asset. If you don't believe me ask Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw and Steve Young-they could run and had a few Super Bowls between them too.

As I asked in the beginning of this piece, have we taken a step forward? Yes, I'd say so. Do we still have a ways to go before articles like this are pointless? Yes, we do. There are aspects of this subject that could be debated over many more articles. The bottom line for me is to simply get to a point where we call the Black QB by just what this article alluded to at the outset: a quarterback.

Isaac Redman, Max Starks And Players To Watch

"I wasn't sure how my body would react, but I don't feel anything right now. Kind of feel like I never really injured it."

Those words were spoken by the Pittsburgh Steelers running back Isaac Redman after practice on Thursday as he prepared for the third preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Regarding the game itself, he said further, "I'm anxious to get out there. I want to get out there and play and give it my all."

Redman had to sit out the Steelers second preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts because of a hip injury. Since Redman's health status was unclear and Rashard Mendenhall, who was just removed from the Active PUP list, certainly won't be ready, until now we'd had Dwyer as the starter not only in Buffalo, but in Denver on September 9th also. Looks like that might not be the case after all.

Nonetheless, Redman has seen little action this preseason. He was in for 11 plays in the first preseason game against the Eagles and carried the ball just five times for 14 yards. He also caught a pass for five yards on the first play of the game.

So, Redman will play Saturday night in Buffalo, but what's unknown is how much. Tomlin has stated that the starters will play at least the first half, maybe more. Since Jason Ford, who has a hamstring strain, won't make the trip, the carries will be divided between Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch and Chris Rainey. 

Per Mike Tomlin on Thursday, the inactive list for Saturday will consist of Ford, James Harrison, Mendenhall and Stevenson Sylvester. Hampton is traveling with the team, but is unlikely to play. None of the others will even make the trip. As a matter of fact, Mendenhall says he has no timetable at all yet on his eventual return.

“To be real, I don’t know when I’ll be ready to play,” said the running back who injured his right ACL in the 2011 regular-season finale at Cleveland. “I’m just working with the training staff and doing what I can to get on the field.”

Unlike most recovering from ACL injuries, Mendy downplays the mental hurdles involved: "Theres a physical difference, and once that's gone, I'll be able to play."

Regardless, that timetable he doesn't know about? Don't expect him back before the bye.

Max Starks will also start against Buffalo. Whether he plays for a quarter or a half is unknown, since he nor the coaches wants to overdue it. Tomlin, expressively forthcoming as always simply said, "Our intentions are to let him play."

Tomlin also said it's unlikely that fourth-string quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who seemed a little more comfortable his second time out, will play against the Bills. Though, Tomlin didn't make a determination who the 2nd QB is yet, I would expect to see Byron Leftwich before Charlie Batch this time. 

~

PLAYERS TO WATCH in Saturday's preseason game against the Bills: 

DAVID GILREATH is consistently good in short area quickness and burst. He's still trying to earn a spot on this roster, but should be considered the frontrunner for the fifth wide receiver spot.

CHRIS CARTER is taking advantage of a golden opportunity and is "improving daily." With Harrison still ailing, look for him to stake a claim for the starting right outside linebacker position (with a solid performance over Cordy Glenn Saturday) against the Broncos to start the season.

JUSTIN PEELLE is a tight end who has played fullback and was brought in to replace the Steelers' David Johnson who was a tight end who had played fullback. Someone needs to be able backup WVU product Will Johnson and still play TE as well. 

MORTTY IVY, another WVU product, may just find a way onto the roster this year considering all the injuries to the position. If he has another solid game and can hold off Adrian Robinson, he just might do it this time. Though, both could make the initial 53-man roster with the aforementioned injuries being an issue. 

AL WOODS and CORBIN BRYANT are battling for the same position and one has to go. Woods had the big interception that he took about 50 yards into the red zone. It must've taken a lot out of him because Bryant received the majority of the snaps in the second game. Who'll step up Saturday?

3-4 vs. 4-3 Defense: Is it time for a change?

It was recently suggested to me that the 3-4 defense the Steelers run had lost it's effectiveness and that it was time to move on from it. As preposterous as it sounded at the time, I've never been one to summarily dismiss a notion without first considering the facts. So neither will I do so here. Let's actually look at the two defenses, examine the differences and consider what experts have to say about the two.

The history of 3-4 defense in NFL dates back to 1974 when former Oklahoma Sooners coach Chuck Fairbanks introduced it in his second season as head coach of the New England Patriots. He used the 3-4 on nearly every down that season with Ray Hamilton as his Nose Tackle - the first one ever seen in the modern NFL. Though the Sooners mainly used a 5-2 defense up through the early 1970s, Fairbanks, considered the Grandfather of the "30 Front" 3-4 defense, introduced the basis of the 3-4 as early as the 1950s. Because of that, other coaches did pick up on this new style of defense. There were quite a few teams, therefore, who used it before the Steelers. Among them were New England, Miami, Denver, Oakland & Buffalo.

For a brief synopsis of coach Chuck Fairbanks and his Oklahoma years, follow this link: http://www.eteamz.com/WNBA/news/index.cfm?cat=746490&subsite=5678765

It should be noted that Joe Collier, NFL coach and defensive coordinator for 30 years, coached with the Bills for seven seasons, from 1962 to 1968 in the AFL. It was there, at least as far as pro football is concerned, that the 3-4 was born, with Collier using it as first defensive coordinator and then head coach. “We initially used it in 1964, but we used it quite a bit against San Diego in 1965 in the AFL Championship Game,” Collier said of a 23-0 Bills victory that gave them their second straight title game victory over the Chargers, the top-scoring team in the league that year. “But for the most part, we didn’t use it. It was not a big part of our defense, maybe for just five or six plays." So this was the first time that pro football, not the NFL, but pro football saw the 3-4 defense.

So the suggestion of dumping the 3-4 defense begs the question: Is the 4-3 defense better? Or more pointedly, was the 1970s Steelers' 4-3 defense better? The Steelers switched to the 3-4 because of injuries and retirements. It wasn't as if Noll had a sudden stroke of genius, rather it was out of necessity. But with some tweaking and a player or two playing somewhat out of position, the 3-4 in Steeltown had begun. The Steelers are, in fact, the only team to strictly use 3-4 for last 30 years. But does that mean it's better than the 4-3? Well the Steelers defenses of the '70s were stellar to say the least, and full of hall of famers. The 1976 defense for instance is considered by some as the best defense ever as it allowed only 138 points over a 14 game schedule and completely blanked 5 of it's last 9 opponents. That calculates out to just 9.85 points per game. Simply devastating. The 1978 Steelers defense only allowed 195 points for a 12.19 points per game average as well. The Steelers also accomplished something no other team in the modern era has in representing the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award three straight years. No other team since the merger has accomplished this.

Then as all the stars of the '70s Steelers dynasty faded, the much dimmer '80s were endured. The team had meager success, only making the AFC Championship game once, after the 1984 season. The Steelers simply weren't as strong or intimidating either. From 1985-1992 the Steelers only recorded more than 40 sacks in a season once. In fact, in 1988 they only recorded 19. If you go simply by those numbers, awards and results, it would seem that a 4-3 defense is something the Steelers might want to consider again considering the pourous defense that has been witnessed so far this season. But as an analyst on the four-letter network is fond of saying, "Not so fast, my friend." There's a gentleman who might like to make an argument in favor of the 3-4. His name is Dick LeBeau.

Fans in Steeler Nation refer to the team as Blitzburgh because of LeBeau's Zone Blitz schemes in the 3-4. For years before LeBeau first became the defensive coordinator, he was the defensive backs coach. His impact, though, could still be felt as the likes of current Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson terrorized offenses. Then when LeBeau was elevated to defensive coordinator, all he did was coach the defense to the no. 3 and no. 2 defenses respectively and a trip to the Super Bowl in 1995. Dick LeBeau, Coach Dad as he is also referred to at times by teammates and pictured above, left after two seasons as defensive coordinator, but returned in 2004 and has been here since that time. Under LeBeau the Steelers have only once failed to be in the top five in the NFL in defense, no. 9 in 2006, and have been the best in total defense three times. He's also coached two Defensive Players of the Year, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, and has been to the Super Bowl 4 times, winning 2 of them.

More information on the actual comparison of the two defenses is in an article written by NFL.com senior analyst, Pat Kirwan. You can read the article here: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d80d6974b/article/effectiveness-of-34-vs-43-is-found-in-the-numbers

LeBeau, though, is himself a Hall of Famer and, quite simply, a legend. His Zone Blitz 3-4 schemes, mentioned earlier is built on confusion. Organized confusion. The fact of it is that it’s usually hard to decipher for opposing offenses. Pass rushers come from all different directions in a myriad of situations. On one play, they come from the left, then the next play from the right, or the middle. Sometimes, a lot of them will come, and on other occasions, few, or maybe even no one. There are so many things going on all at the same time, so many stunts, so many linebackers and safeties moving in and out of spots as the quarterback barks out the signals, that it can become a blur in trying to figure out who’s going to do what, and when. For years it's been that way. Until this year...

The 2011 version of the Steelers defense has only one turnover and only 7 sacks. Worse yet, the defense is being gashed on the ground, giving up two 100-yard rushers in 4 games. Not teams, individual runners. That is something that Steeler Nation simply isn't used to seeing from it's defense. At all. Since 2007 the Steelers had only allowed three 100-yard rushers. Again, there have already been two in four games this year alone. Thus the reasons for the article being written in the first place. Are these really signs that time has caught up with LeBeau and the 3-4? Is it time to revert back to a 4-3 defense? After all, Coach Tomlin did have major success with a 4-3 Cover 2 defense at his previous stops. Is this a possibility?

To answer this properly you'd have to ask whether the deficiences on defense are actually scheme related. That's key. Because, let's face it, the tool is only as good as it's user. If the defense is sound but the execution is flawed, then the fault lies not in the scheme. The best examples of this come from the Texans game in week 4. The Steelers found themselves succeptable to the stretch play on multiple occasions and were caught in a slant regularly. In one instance the nose tackle Casey Hampton was cut, and the outside linebacker Lamarr Woodley was hooked into a seal block. Because the inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons overplayed to the strong side, the running back Ben Tate found a wide open lane for a big gain. In the fourth quarter Arian Foster was allowed to run basically untouched 42 yards for a touchdown because Polamalu arrived late to the play and Woodley was caught embarrassingly out of position because he bought full-price the bootleg that Schaub was selling. So much so that whatever remaining chance Polamalu had of making the play, Woodley took it from him by colliding with Polamalu, freeing Foster completely. Things of this nature happened all game long.

It isn't just a matter of being caught out of position, though. There have also been missed opportunities and plenty of missed tackles. James Farrior had a chance to tackle Arian Foster in the backfield on one particular play and seemed to have him dead to rights. Foster fought through the grasp of much to easily and turned a loss into a big gain. These are examples of what has happened all year on defense. These are not scheme issues, these are plainly and simply matters of lack of gap sound execution, poor tackling and not being able to hold blocks that would normally free up the linebackers for pressuring the quarterback.

The good thing about this is that it's all able to be fixed. These are matters of getting back to fundamentals and playing your gaps and not getting caught watching the paint dry. Read, react and keep the feet moving. The Steelers know how to do this. LeBeau knows how to coach 'em up. This is, after all, the same defense that was no. 2 in the NFL last year and that went to the Super Bowl. So this isn't a scheme issue or a "The NFL has passed you, LeBeau" issue. It's an executon issue. This is absolutely something that can be rectified. It's like my poppa always said, "When ya done something wrong, when ya stray off course, what'r the directions back? Turn 'right' and keep goin straight." And the Steelers can certainly "right" themselves. They just have to be willing to roll their sleeves up and actually do it.