Restructures and stuff

[Finnegans Wake]

SDepot.com thinks William Gay has signed with the Steelers

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/03/has-cb-william-gay-signed-back-with-the-steelers/

Yay.   

Meh.  He a'ight...as long as he comes cheap and he's not asked to start.

Yeah, they have to run at Lewis to re-sing, and of course Ike and Cortez are ahead of Gay, Curtis Brown, and the miscellany of chumps.

Gay x3 years = 300%.

[Bubby]

I kind of hate the whole restructuring approach. When they need to cut dead weight in the future, their hands are tied. The savings aren't the same. We don't have other options, but shit...it just keeps the cycle going.

GAY: Drop off is so steep after Taylor, Lewis, and Allen, so we could definitely use the depth. Here's to hoping Gay is just that: a cheap chump replacement. If so, that's fine. He's better than Josh Victorian. 

We've got to secure Lewis, though. Seriously.

Who will they dump to free up space? Dumping Colon and not re-signing Hampton would free up a lot of physical space if nothing else. I hope they drop Colon, though. He's got the bug and they need to face that. Troy does, too, but obviously brings so much more when healthy than Colon ever did. He's worth a gamble. Way I see it. Dump what you don't need, even if that means guys like Harrison who are the past, not the future of the franchise.

Draft RB and ILB early. Draft S, QB, LBs, NT, WRs later. If we had money, I'd speculate about free agency, but we don't. Probably just a couple Gay/Breaston level, no-splash types of signings. Last year's draft will have its impact this year, especially if Spence recovers. If Rainey and Shamu weren't such fuck ups, last years draft would actually look pretty good. 3/5ths of an offensive line and a potentially good ILB. Not bad, considering.

Second year of Haley will be better than the first, I think. I'm glad Mendenhall and Wallace will be gone. Neither is as good as their self-centered behavior would suggest. It's just locker room cancer at that point.

Bottom line: We need a RB in the draft. We need to retain Lewis. We need to cut the fat. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

[Finnegans Wake]

Ramon Foster back for 3 years.  Guessing it's a reasonable deal, cap-wise.  Good move.  Now what for Colon?

[Finnegans Wake]

Dwyer signs his tender, wants to stay in Pitt.  Smart move.

ILB Dan Connor visiting, Larry Foote may join the Steelers West.  Connor was a solid collegiate player but was often injured at Carolina and Dallas, so this could be a solid pickup IF he stays healthy AND plays to potential.

[aj_law]

Dwyer signs his tender, wants to stay in Pitt.  Smart move.

ILB Dan Connor visiting, Larry Foote may join the Steelers West.  Connor was a solid collegiate player but was often injured at Carolina and Dallas, so this could be a solid pickup IF he stays healthy AND plays to potential.

Wouldn't mind if a player from Steelers West joined Pittsburgh.  Beanie Wells could be a nice, cheap option at RB.

Edit:  And, I agree that Connor would be a nice pickup.  Basically, a younger version of Foote.  Don't agree with reports that say Timmons will be moved to Harrison's spot though.

[Finnegans Wake]

Timmons isn't going to play OLB except in Tomlin's short-lived dream of such, 2007.

Rumors that Foster's $6M/3 year makes Colon's $6M/1 year a cuttable offense.

Wells was hurt a lot, right?  Did he show much of anything?

[Brinker]

Foote and Plax sign with Stillers

[aj_law]

Foote and Plax sign with Stillers

Guess they weren't impressed with Connor.

Plax?  Meh.  S'ok, I guess.  Ben's got his wingman back.  Ladies, who's DTF?  Bitches drink my shots!

Wells was hurt a lot, right?  Did he show much of anything?

Yeah, only had one decent season in 2011.  Knee issues have been a lingering problem.  Doesn't have great hands and isn't the best at pass pro.

I just remember watching a couple games with him and being surprised by his production.  I wasn't a fan of his coming out of THE Ohio State University, but after seeing him play, I remember thinking he was pretty fast for his size, ran hard, didn't go down easy and almost always went forward after contact.  He'd still be pretty young (25) once the season starts.  Not a lot of miles on those tires.  He had a pretty modest contract with Arizona too...something like a 5YR/9MIL/2BONUS.  Gotta think they can get him on the cheap for 2 or 3 years.  Obviously, they'd have to be sure the knee was ready to go.  FWIW, dude's a year younger than Mendenhall.

With a healthy O-line and a bona fide franchise QB in the backfield with him, I think he'd put up big numbers.

Beanie Wells 2011 highlights

[Finnegans Wake]

The Foote signing smells of desperation.  Apparently, Spence has nerve damage, and apparently they're letting Stevenson Sylvester play STs somewhere else.  Could still draft a guy and keep Foote as starter/backup/whatever.

Plax, I agree: meh.  Maybe with time in camp he can rebuild rappor with Ben.  Didn't get used much last year.  Another position we're shitty thin at.  Sanders was tendered, and I suspect he stays, wouldn't be worth most teams' R3.  Brown, locked in.  Still have Cotchery.  Bunch of guys like Gilreath and Moye, not that you can count on that.  I want to see them take a playmaker early in the draft. 

And I think the RB class will go plenty deep, we can definitely find someone this year.  Don't be surprised if Dwyer especially thrives in the new blocking scheme, too.

[Finnegans Wake]

SINGE MmANDI ASSOMOHA!!!!!!!!!!111111!