Welcome Back, Max Starks; Goodbye, Jonathan Scott

"@BobLabriola: Max Starks signed to a 1-year deal, puts Steelers at 90 players on their roster."

That was the message that flashed across my phone Tuesday morning...causing me to shed a brief tear. I say that not only because the Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed Max Starks, their starting left tackle since 2008, but also because it most likely means the departure of Jonathan Scott. Finally.  

I personally have wanted to see Starks back, and we at If It Ain't Steel have blogged about his possible return and the implications of such an acquisition.

Max Starks gives the Steelers the luxury of keeping second-year man Marcus Gilbert at right tackle, where he started as a rookie and at what is seemingly his best position. Starks and rookie Mike Adams, the Steelers second-rounder, will contend for the starting job at left tackle in training camp. I'm sure, though, the rookie would have to be outstanding in camp to become the actual starter going into the season.

Before they drafted Adams, there were stirrings that the Steelers had planned to move Gilbert to left tackle. Gilbert practiced on both sides during the minicamps. He also played left tackle, albeit for only approximately six games, while at Florida.

Like Ed Bouchette said, "No need for Marcus Gilbert to move to left tackle if Mike Adams could grasp it now with Starks signing with Steelers." We also know now why the Steelers kept their roster at 89 players for so long.

Starks had said back in May that he was aiming for week one to be healthy and ready to go. According to his posting on Twitter this morning, he's on schedule: “@maxstarks78: It's a great day, doc gave me a great report! On my way to being game ready!”

He then posted proof, just in case there was any doubt: “@maxstarks78: It's real and sealed! I'll be seeing you in Latrobe! http://t.co/FqqZ0xZV  

Though not the best left tackle in the game, Max Starks is still one of the most liked persons amongst those in the organization and in Steeler Nation. A sentiment echoed by Mike Prisuta of the DVE Morning Show in Pittsburgh and co-host with Labriola of "Agree to Disagree."

"When Steelers types talk Starks they get to 'comfortable' and 'respect' and 'good fit' pretty quickly. I'll second that 'no lose' assessment."

I'm right there as well. In fact, I'm so happy about this that I won't even bash Jonathan Scott. I've done that enough anyway. I won't point out that the crew from Ghost Hunters was hired to find him on the offensive line and couldn't. I won't suggest that he gets smoked more than a joint at a Snoop Dogg concert. Nor will I suggest that he's on his back more than Jenna Jameson.

I won't say any of that. I'm a bigger man than that (he said as he shined up his sh*t kickers ready to boot Scott outta town).

Welcome back, Max.

Dez Bryant and the Hypocrisy of Main Stream Media

I have been watching all the stuff that has been unfolding  with the Dez Bryant issue and how mainstream media is not trying to “Try him in the court of public opinion."   Bryant was arrested on Monday for misdemeanor assault against his mother. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/17/dez-bryant-accused-of-grabbing-his-mom-by-the-hair-and-hitting-her/    I am not going into the details about it because the article does that.   This is nonsense, though, and something needs to be done ASAP.

There has been more to come out about this incident and the more that comes out the sicker I am getting.  For one, why are mainstream media outlets like ESPN and others giving him a free pass on this?  I was watching ESPN's First Take this morning and was appalled at the garbage that Skip Bayless was saying.  Yes, I know all the facts had not come out at that point and that they did not want to pass judgment.  But in the same segment he was talking all about Bryant’s mother's past run-ins with the law and he basically said we shouldn’t judge Bryant.  Well I beg to differ.  To me, that is hypocrisy at its finest. You can't condone one while excusing the other.

Where was all this “Not Judging in the Court of ESPN First Take” and other sports news outlets when Ben Roethlisberger was accused but never charged?  ESPN led the charge in pretty much destroying Ben’s reputation, and was basically screaming for Ben’s head on a platter even after the facts came out.  Ben was suspended due to the media fueled “Trying in the Court of Public Opinion”.   I for one did support Ben’s suspension, not because I believed he was guilty, but because I believed he needed a kick to the pants that Goodell delivered. And, if you'll notice, we have heard nothing bad about him since.

 So why does Bryant get a free pass with the media  for hitting his mother?   This is the wrong message you are sending, in my opinion.   It was basically said that it is ok.  Here is the link to the first segment, but the other one was not posted, and if it had been, you would see what I am talking about.  http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8173281   

 I am not going to quote something I cannot back up, but being a victim of domestic violence, I was appalled at the words in the second segment.  I am so sick of this issue being made of light of, intimating that it is ok to hit women, just because she has a record.  That is the message I got and it made me want to throw up.  It is not ok to hit any woman, let alone your mother. Period.  I do not care what the circumstances are.  That is the woman that gave you life, has cared for you, and is always there for you.   I do not care that she had a past record.    Women are not punching bags no matter how you try to spin it.  The media's constant picking and choosing of who gets a pass has gotten out of hand.  If you are going to damn one player to hell, the same rules need to apply to all of the players.    Just because he has never been arrested does not make it ok for you or anyone else to condone violence towards women.  Bryant is not the first athlete that has gotten this free pass for domestic violence, there have been several.   It needs to stop.  

According to them, we are supposed to turn the other cheek, so to speak, because this is his first arrest.  Well, where was this turning the other cheek on other athletes that you have harped on while making other players the poster boys of bad behavior?    Oh, that's right they  did not hit women and all they had against them was allegations and no facts.   But I guess that is ok to damn them to hell?  Right?

This is the wrong message because it slaps in the face true victims of assault, especially women that have been victimized over the years by men.  I feel that Goodell needs to address this and address this quickly, and not give him a free pass.  He has shown a pattern of bad behavior over the years and it is escalating.  Goodell said he does not need an arrest to suspend a player, if they show a pattern of bad behavior he can suspend.  Well, now is the time to show it Goodell.  Don't join in with the media led “turning the other cheek” and basically condoning violence towards women.  That should not be the message you want to send considering women make up a big part of the NFL fan base.  

I will end this with what Stephen A. Smith said in the second segment.  He did not condone it, he looked at it the way I did, “If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, it isn’t no Mongoose." 

Former Steeler Willie Parker Runs To A Coaching Position; Ray Rice Signs

You can't coach speed. Willie Parker, though, is looking to coach the rest of what it takes.

Pete Roussel of COACHINGSEARCH.com reported Monday that former Steelers running back Willie Parker accepted a coaching position on the West Virginia Wesleyan staff. Good news for Fast Willie Parker.

FWP, who holds the record for the longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history, never had a chance to have any sort of swan song after being released by the Steelers. His bad-mouthing the organization didn't help matters any. Nonetheless, he tried to get on with several teams after that to no avail. So, If It Ain't Steel is glad to see him turning the page in his career.

FWP should do well as he begins his coaching career if he is able to apply what learned and endured as a player. He didn't start at the University of North Carolina. He wasn't drafted out of college. He had a Steelers legend in front of him when he got to Pittsburgh. He even had to endure being told, during a chance encounter with a Steelers fan before making the team his rookie year, "I hope you get cut!" when he revealed that he grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan.

Point blank, FWP knows what it takes to be successful at the position and the game: he knows about overcoming adversity and the mental toughness it takes, on top of whatever physical gifts, and he learned how to be a great running back and to be gracious while being so from a great running back who was gracious while being so. If he can take what he learned and overcame and convey that to his players, we're certain to see an FWP protégé in the NFL one day.

Who knows? Maybe we'll even him in the NFL again one day too. On the sidelines.

~

The Baltimore Ravens and Ray Rice sneak five-year, $40 million deal in under Monday's deadline. Total numbers are five years, $40 million, with $25 million in first two years. I believe only Adrian "AD" Peterson is higher. -  http://t.co/JXfzt1Vu 

Rice is essential to the Raven's offense, so this was a necessary signing. Even in a league where the quarterback is still the golden boy who gets the cheerleader, even in Joe Flaccid's case, there is always X-factor workhorse who is the glue holding it all together. That's Ray Rice.

Baltimore could get by without The Unibrow, but not Ray Rice. They're already in danger of being bereft of two former defensive players of the year, they couldn't afford any issues with Rice also.

Antwaan Randle El Follows Kordell Stewart's Footsteps; Mike Wallace Update

First Kordell Stewart, and now Antwaan Randle El. The second former Steelers wide receiver/quarterback/rusher in almost as many months to announce his retirement. I fully expect to hear of Mark Malone's announcement of his retiring as a Steeler player any day now.

My first thought when I heard about this back on July 6th? "Ya mean he isn't already?" He then announced officially Monday, July 16th. Ok.

 

Look, I appreciate all that Randle El did for the Steelers. He was, in a sense, the second coming of "Slash." He returned kicks and punts, was a serviceable wide receiver, ran the ball on occasion and also played quarterback. There, as a matter of fact, is where his memory shall be closely guarded. As El is the only wide receiver in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. (Something for which Steelers fans will be eternally grateful.) -http://t.co/JbAR9AyN

It's just that I don't know why a wide receiver who had 370 receptions, 4,467 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns (21 total when adding returns) in nine total years feels the need to "announce" his retirement. Or am I too cynical?

The next stage of El's life will apparently be in broadcasting, as he’s going to work for the Big Ten Network as well as some preseason work with the Washington Redskins. Being that he's a very intelligent and articulate man, I'm sure he'll do very well in this next endeavor.

~

On Saturday, ESPN posted that the Pittsburgh Steelers are confident that a deal for Mike Wallace will be reached soon. I thought it over and, since we can't go a day without hearing about the speedy wide receiver, I decided to jot a few thoughts down. There is enough wiggle room to garner such confidence, but will we see it come to fruition?

The Steelers could afford a salary cap hit of about $4 million or so in 2012. As was noted in a previous blog, the current numbers show the Steelers at $3.73 million under the cap. A deal for Wallace could be written in such a way so that it could be restructured in the next couple of years, a la Timmons and Woodley. The thing, therefore, to concentrate on in this or any contract reached is the true guaranteed amount, not the total average per year of the agreement. For instance, the actual value of Vincent Jackson's deal is $13 million over each of the first two years. That's it. Despite all those fives, it's a 2-year, $26 million deal.

So, while I have faith that Omar Khan could make the numbers work, it's a question of whether they're numbers that the Steelers are interested in paying. Though it could be structured various ways, you'd be looking at $11 million a season no matter how much smoke there is and no matter how strategically the mirrors are placed.

The good thing is that Wallace already counts $2.74 against the 2012 cap as it is. Sign him to a long deal and that will go away. Cut Jonathan Scott and another $2 million plus ($2.2M?) is freed up. There's almost $5 million right there, the amount for the salary cap hit mentioned earlier. So, albeit very tight and full of Chinese arithmetic, it's possible. The question is whether it's probable.

Death Penalty Punishment Of Penn State Would Only Hurt Players

On Thursday, July 12th, the Freeh Report of the Penn State university 14-year sexual molestation scandal was released. I have not even had a chance to digest it and I've already seen lots of clamor for a "Death Penalty" for the football program.

I'm not the only one.

“The blogosphere is alive with calls for a death penalty,” said Bob Dvorchak, co-author of the book “Game Over: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State and the Culture of Silence. For Penn State and the football program, I think there will be sanctions, and the basis of that will be lack of institutional control.”

The "Death Penalty" would mean that Penn State's football team would be shut down by the NCAA for at least a year. In a word: ridiculous. As Dvorchak said, this is about "institutional control", not strictly about a football team.

Pulling the team out of play for a year or more is tantamount to punishing a child when it was a parent who erred. The ones who'd suffer the most in that scenario would be the players who couldn't play, would have to transfer and possibly sit for a year, or, if special considerations were to be made for transferring players, would have to battle for a position they'd already had locked up at their current school.

There wasn't one player in any way involved in the scandal, but people want to give Penn State the Death Penalty? Purely asinine!

Like Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said: "This is bigger than football and it would be irresponsible to punish one aspect of the university. It should be a broad-stroke punishment."

What's the best way to do that? Money and scholarships. Not just from football, either, but from all aspects of the university. This was a cover-up from day one and should be approached as any other scandal of this nature, because Spanier, Curley, Shultz and even Paterno all "concealed critical facts." - http://t.co/3l0QnFcT

The aforementioned Kaboly agrees with me on this: "How to punish PSU as a whole? MONEY. And that starts with cutting state funds in some way for period of time."

No matter what was thought of a particular individual or how lauded he or she is/was, it can never excuse the deliberate endangerment of innocents, especially children.

Anyone, by the way, who would present the argument that the USC football and Michigan basketball programs were hit hard by the NCAA and that it was subsequent players who suffered needs to remember something: there was actual player involvement in those cases. Players, boosters and coaches were in cahoots to win at all costs. It cost them alright. The punishments there, though, fit the crime. It absolutely would not be the same in this case.

Penn State as a whole needs to be punished for this. This was a disgusting, reprehensible and malicious ongoing crime against multiple youths. Like was said in the movie The Untouchables, "Somebody steals from me, I'm gonna say you stole. Not talk to him for spitting on the sidewalk. Understand?"

In this case, the entire university shares in the culpability of stealing the innocence from these young men. They should all share, therefore, in the punishment, and have the football team's players punished for something in which they had no part.

~

TIDBITS: There was a report published by Sport Illustrated in 2009 that said 78% of NFL players are bankrupt or facing serious financial stress within two years of ending their playing careers.

It seems Larry Foote is getting a jump on that.

Pro Football Talk Thursday reported that Larry Foote was the victim of fraud. - http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/12/foote-says-hes-a-victim-of-six-figure-fraud/

I won't linger too long on this, but I'll simply say that I hope he wasn't just stupid or ignorant about some shady deal and that one of his handlers mishandled an investment. Because, before I part with any significant amount of cash, please know that I will have done a THOROUGH investigation of where my money was going.

Granted, most NFL players are multi-millionaires and can’t just put $10 million in the cookie jar or under a mattress. They have to invest. Some guys evidently invest badly.

Hopefully he is able to rectify this and learn from his lesson so that he'll be of that other 22%.

Rashard Mendenhall Returns To Twitter And With Good News

It's official! We at If It Ain't Steel have achieved a new level: Trendsetters. Just a day after coming back from the ashes, another Phoenix arose. Yes, Rashard Mendenhall is also back. He's back on Twitter and with good news.
His first tweet was a simple, "Hello Everyone : )." It was his second tweet, though, that got the attention.

He tweeted, “@R_Mendenhall: My knee has healed wonderfully, thanks for all the well wishes!”



This is very good news because it means that the Steelers have another running back body for the stretch-run of the season. As for now, Mendenhall just needs to keep rehabbing his knee to be able to be that dynamic player again.

I'm actually hoping, though, that it has a slight affect on his style. Anyone who has read this blog for the last year knows that we're Mendy fans. We're not blind, though. Mendy has two issues that keep him from being a top tier running back. First, he has little confidence in his offensive line and it causes him to dance at the line too much. He wants to hit the home run every time and that sometimes causes a loss of yards or no gain. Sometimes he just needs to hit the hole and get the two or three available yards. He's not Barry Sanders. Besides, sometimes you have to set up those home runs with a slew of singles and doubles.

The other issue that Mendy has is vision. He doesn't have the great vision that the truly elite have and it affects his production. Not only does it affect his production, but it can, and does, kill drives.

Lance Zierlein of THESIDELINEVIEW.com said something similar recently: "Watching some Steeler tape & is unreal how many yds Mendenhall leaves on field due to lack of vision."

So, I'm hoping that Mendy, along with his rehab, has been looking at tape also and realistically looked at what he could do better and focus, no pun intended, on what he could do better.

Regardless, it's good to see Mendy back on Twitter and we at If It Ain't Steel are glad we had a hand in that. (That's our story and we're sticking to it.)

~

We posted yesterday that the Steelers would be stupid to waste a draft pick on a risk of a player in the supplemental draft. The player in question, Josh Gordon out of Baylor, was projected to go between the third and sixth rounds.

The Cleveland Browns evidently thought differently because they took him in the second round. I know they need wide receiver help, but this could be a stretch. They'd better hope that this is a high risk, high reward situation and not a high risk who just wants to get high.

Cleveland, though, has a history of bad decisions that have lead to bad teams. The basketball and baseball teams are just as snake-bitten and historically bad. There's a reason LeBron James, Jim Thome and, well, the entire Browns team left Cleveland.

Do any current Cleveland sports fans under 35 years old even know about having a winning team? Do they remember Brad Daugherty and Craig Ehlo? Do they even know about Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield? Have they ever heard of Albert Belle and Joey Belle? (Please tell me you got that last one.)

Look, I could keep this to football, considering how this was introduced and just say "that's why they're the Browns", but I need to lay it on the line and call a spade a spade: Cleveland sucks.

And if you hate what I said, YOU'RE READING THE WRONG BLOG! I'll just let my man Dwayne close this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-4xvO1z58o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

McLendon Isn't 280 And It Isn't 4:20 In Pittsburgh

"I'm back." - Michael Jordan

"I'm thinkin' about makin' a comeback." - Muhammed Ali, The Greatest

"Don't call it a comeback!" - LL Cool J

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, Steeler Nation. We at If It Ain't Steel have come out of rehab following a nervous breakdown to get back into the ring and we're coming out swinging. Not pulling punches, just throwing haymakers!

On Wednesday, Pro Football Talk posted what seemed to be a well-written article regarding Steelers nose tackle Steve McLendon. The problem is that they listed McLendon at 280 pounds. He isn't 280 lbs. and hasn't been for about a year now.

The article "Steelers’ Steve McLendon: I can play nose tackle at 280 pounds." Not that McLendon didn't say those words, because I'm sure he did. My problem is that I can't find the actual quote. I've looked over the Internet and can't find those specific words within an article, just those eight words.

Everything I'd read, and that I've written, to this point has been that McLendon had bulked up the last year and a half. He was supposedly closer to 300 lbs. last year and is reportedly around 320 lbs. now. Don't believe me? Ok, that's cool. But you should believe Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider and Steelers Digest and Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a couple of guys who spend a little bit of their time around the team and facilities.

On his Twitter page Wexell tweeted this in response to Pro Football Talk's article: "@jimwexell: Steve McLendon can play nose at 280 http://t.co/uTjFhJpQ Because he's 320."

He then tweeted this: "@jimwexell: McLendon's actually 325. Been listed at 280 since was URFA in 2009. Listing must be reason so many media predicted Steelers would draft NT."

The "listing" comment has real validity. Do the eyeball test, people. Did Big Ben LOOK like he was 241 lbs. a couple of years ago? I would have debates with fellow fans about his weight...but we were debating about 250 lbs as opposed to 260 lbs. I would venture to guess that, using the eyeball test, McLendon looks at least 300 lbs when watching him on the field.

Now, what about Kaboly? What'd he have to say? "@MarkKaboly_Trib: #Steelers NT Steve McLendon weighs 325-330 pounds."

He also touched on the original weight listing when he tweeted, "@MarkKaboly_Trib: Don't believe weights on #Steelers roster. They don't change them after initial rookie weigh-in."

Even if he isn't quite the 330 lbs. claimed by Kaboly, the Steelers coaches certainly have confidence in McLendon. We quoted Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell in a previous blog post saying as much. It was after the NFL Draft when he praised and defended McLendon. Read what Mitchell had to say here: http://t.co/2sClOgUG

~

Wednesday morning, a respected member of the media, when speaking of this Thursday's NFL Supplemental Draft, suggested something the Steelers might do. He surmised, "What if Steelers surprised everyone & took Josh Gordon in tomorrow's supplemental draft. Big receiver. Would send loud message to Wallace. He's there in the 6th RD they better take him."

My response to that when I read it was an expected one: What are you smoking?!?

Actually, that's an easy answer: the same thing Gordon, the 6'3" 225-pound former Baylor wide receiver who ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at his pro day Tuesday, was smoking that got him suspended. The suspension which led to him being in Thursday's supplemental draft.

"It (suspension at Baylor) was due to a failed marijuana test," Gordon told the Houston Chronicle after his Pro Day work out Tuesday. "It was against school policy, of course, and I was (suspended) in the summer. I've definitely put that part of my life behind me. I don't plan to ever go back there. It was a difficult time, but I learned from it, and I've moved on."

Ok, I'll buy what you're selling. You did it in under 420 characters too. The Steelers, though, have already invested some green in purple, and they won't do it again. Sacrificing a draft pick for a weed-smoking risk won't happen. Not judging him at all, I just know it won't happen. Especially since there's varying opinions on his worth in the first place.

He's projected to go in the third round to the Cleveland Browns, according to Sigmund Bloom of FOOTBALLGUYS.COM, and Albert Breer of NFL.com says Josh Gordon may be "overhyped" http://t.co/G6CEqo5d

Not nearly enough to burn a draft pick (no pun intended).

~

TIDBITS: Brief salary cap news from Brian McIntyre of NFL.com Tuesday, the Steelers are somewhere between $116-$117 million for the Rule of 51 number, which, according to NFL.com, puts them $3.734 million under the salary cap number.

In the report they state that the Steelers adjusted cap number is $121.195 million: the $120,600,000 base 2012 salary cap figure, plus the $506,000 remaining cap space left over from last year and other Chinese arithmetic.

Bottom line: the Steelers have room for Mike Wallace (y'all knew we couldn't do this without mentioning him) and an 11th hour move should an injury occur. Like, for instance, if I go to Latrobe and go all Tonya Harding on Jonathan Scott's leg. Not that I would, I'm just sayin...though, it would also save money in the process. Hm...