Ed Bouchette's Steelers chat: 1.22.13

Tuesday, 22 January 2013 14:47

Written by Ed Bouchette

Ed Bouchette: Good afternoon, let's begin

AZ Brian: What is chance Steelers try to move up in first round for a DE or DT?

Ed Bouchette: I would say very little. They drafted two defensive ends in the first round in the previous four years, and they have a nose tackle. They have other needs more severe

Eleven: Do you think James Harrison has to agree to a pay cut to remain with the Steelers? He is getting a bit long in the tooth for a restructuring that benefits the team's salary cap, don't you think? Troy and Heath are still young enough where contact restructurings might make some sense.

Ed Bouchette: I believe they will approach him about it.

Dude_From_Cali: Ed: your prediction on first draft position? not specific person but what,, OLB? DT?

Ed Bouchette: They do not draft that way. We have 3 months before the draft and right now they have no idea who they will pick. I'm certainly not going to try to guess at this point. I do that the morning of the draft and often get it wrong.

Sam: Good Afternoon Ed, Some teams use a combo of a 3-4 and 4-3 defense. Any chance at all the Steelers could use a 4-3 with Hood, Heyward, McClendon, and Keisel on the line and Woodley, Harrison, and Timmons as the backers?

Ed Bouchette: They will tell you they use a combo now, when they go to their pass defense. But what we're talking about here is a base defense and they never used a 4-3 in their base. The problem with what you suggest is that Harrison and Woodley are not your typical 4-3 outside linebackers. Their assets are pass rushing not covering pass receivers.

FoolBack: Ed, I've liked Jonathan Dwyer as far back as college. But he had a much different body frame then. Were the Steelers pleased with his weight and conditioning this season?

Ed Bouchette: They felt better about it than his previous two seasons but pleased would be too strong to describe it. Dwyer got more serious about his profession this past year, he needs to double-down on that now.

oscar: best movie you saw in 2012?

Ed Bouchette: Let's stretch it to include the eligible movies for the Academy Awards. Lincoln, Argo. Saw both in January.

War18: Ed, thoughts on the Ravens winning the super bowl? do you think this puts Flacco on the same playing field as Ben if he wins?

Ed Bouchette: He would have to win at least another, if my math is correct.

Tprod: Ed, could the Steelers if Foote leaves move Worilds to inside linebacker?

Ed Bouchette: Right now, they need him on the outside. Stevenson Sylvester would have to step up.

Fred: Do you think that the inability for 'young money crew" to make plays on balls like the ravens have done for flacco reinforces the mindset of letting Wallace walk and looking for a WR in the draft?

Ed Bouchette: I think once they did not sign Mike Wallace and he held out, his fate was determined by both sides, that he will leave for a good offer elsewhere.

Tprod: Ed, the Steelers lack a #1 WR, a #1 RB, an ILB to play buck, and depth at just about every position on Offense and Defense. They also need safeties who will be ready to start sooner than later. Can one draft fix these needs?

Ed Bouchette: No, just like one draft could not fix the offensive line. However, i don't share your concern about inside linebacker and there's no pressing issue at safety right now. You can find safeties anywhere.

arthur dugan: You said recently that unless the steelers add a top-flight RB and WR, they won't improve as an offensive regardless of who the coordinator is. Isn't is possible that they improve because the line stays healthy, the WRs have rebound years, and they get more comfortable with Haley's system? None of those things seem crazy to me

Ed Bouchette: Lot of ifs there. When trying to predict things, too many ifs add up to unreliability.

War18: Ed, I thought Larry Foote played really well this year, why is everyone looking to boot him?

Ed Bouchette: Many are assuming, even Foote at one point assumed that. However, I think there's a chance they will bring him back. But then, this time last year I thought there was a chance they would bring Hines Ward back.

D. Haskins: are the steelers talking contract with any of their free agents to be yet?

Ed Bouchette: No, and Kevin Colbert made it pretty clear they will not until after free agency begins March 12.

BillL: Is it strange that the Steeelrs haven't hied a OL coach before the Senior Bowl?

Ed Bouchette: Not really. Either Mike Tomlin has someone in mind or he sees enough candidates out there that he's satisfied he will find a good one.

Eleven: Do you think Colon gets released because of the injuries (after all they were not his fault) or is it all about the cap?

Ed Bouchette: Both.

Fred: Did you read anything into Colbert's comments about drafting a QB in the first round not being out of the question--especially when there is perhaps not even a QB worthy of a round 1 pick? was he trying to send a message to anyone?

Ed Bouchette: I believe Kevin was trying to send a message to EVERYONE, that after the 2012 season all positions will be put under the microscope. We know they will not draft a quarterback on the first round, but Kevin chose to lump that position in with the others to not discriminate in a down year.

War18: Ed, Do you think the running games suffers because they don't really use a true fullback?

Ed Bouchette: No, because many teams do not use true fullbacks and, really, Will Johnson is a true fullback, at least that's how they use him. He just never played the position before 2012.

Guest: Any prognosis on Sean Spence? he was really doing well last year until the turf took his knee out.

Ed Bouchette: I've heard his rehab has been painfully slow because of the serious of his knee injury.

Will: I watched SB XIV again recently. Were you there? I think it's Exhibit A re: Lambert better than Ray Lewis.

Ed Bouchette: Yes, that's the first Super Bowl I covered. In Rose Bowl. Quite a scene. Lambert had a big interception deep in Steelers territory with the game on the line.

weegie: Hasn't Polamalu been doing his own training program during the past few offseasons? Do you think they might ask him to do something different due to his injuries the past two years?

Ed Bouchette: He's done it more than a few times. He's done it almost always. He did spend his time at all the off-season OTA practices last spring, though. He told me during the season that he would not change his training regimen.

Norcal Fan: The Niners are going to the Superbowl after a season with an Oline that has started the same 5 guys all season. Certainly there is luck involved, but the Steelers loss of key players can't be all bad luck, do they have a bad conditioning program or other coaching problems contributing to the rash of injuries?

Ed Bouchette: Art Rooney II said they are looking into that. Kevin Colbert says they really did not sustain more injuries than other teams, including 4 in the playoffs.

Fred: Do you think the Steelers are dragging their feet on hiring assistant coaches since all of the vacant head coaching spots are now occupied and people are hiring all the assistants?

Ed Bouchette: There would be no incentive in doing that.

Dude_From_Cali: Some have whispered Woodley had gained 20lbs of unwanted during the past disastrous season. Didn't Steeler coaching staff object to Woodley's flab?

Ed Bouchette: Kevin Colbert said Woodley weighed no more than when he was a Pro Bowler and really had no problem with the condition he was in.

War18: Ed, is it time to start maybe looking at drafting a TE to back up Heath?

Ed Bouchette: They drafted one last year, David Paulson, and he backed up Heath MIller as a rookie.

oh hey jake: Hey Bill, thanks for the chat. With the signing of Liriano, he joins Burnett, Wandy, McDonald, and Karstens in the likely opening rotation, and you've got Cole and Morton possibly ready by June/July. Is this the highest ceiling rotation the Bucs have had in the 21st Century?

Ed Bouchette: Wrong channel, Jake.

War18: Ed, Who are you puling for in the Super Bowl?

Ed Bouchette: I don't pull, because I'm part of the press.

weegie: If Harrison isn't back next season, would they be comfortable with Worilds as a starter?

Ed Bouchette: Comfortable would be too strong a word to describe it.

Fred: Any chance that the steelers don't tender any of the RFAs? Sylvester hasn't done anything and has disappointed on special teams.

Ed Bouchette: There's always a chance, but I don't think they want to risk losing both RBs, Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman, who are RFAs.

Cheesy: Which Steeler(s) makes it into the HOF next week?

Ed Bouchette: Jerome Bettis. Vote is Feb. 2

Sam: Hi Ed, the baseball Hall of Fame was shutout this year from any new members... is such a thing possible in the NFL or do (at least) 5 always get in?

Ed Bouchette: Four must get in, seven is the max.

Fred: Is the Ryan Mundy experiment over?

Ed Bouchette: I don't know if you'd call it an experiment but obviously Will Allen passed him on the depth chart during the season. Both are free agents.

Paul: Why can't the NFL Network be better? Everything is sugar coated. Almost every feature is about the quarterback. Rich Eisen is irritating. And OK, former players...but 5 ex jocks on the same set?

Ed Bouchette: There are people who work for the NFL Network whom I have great respect for, but I do not watch it much.

War18: Ed, I'm sure you hit this before so i apologize if I am doubling up, Any chance Plex comes back?

Ed Bouchette: I don't think there's a good chance.

burghman: Any word on Heath...given his age and the extent of injury will hard to see him back and as dominate as he was this year. Who will take his place at least early in the season?

Ed Bouchette: Way too early. Rashard Mendenhall snapped his ACL around the same time and missed the first 3 games. Each player is different, obviously, as Adrian Peterson proved.

Fred: Are the steelers comfortable that Marcus Gilbert can play LT?

Ed Bouchette: That's their plan at the moment. Again, comfortable is probably not a word they feel right now because he'll have to show he can play the position before they feel that way.

jr rider: knowing NFL locker rooms somewhat, do you think that future NFL teammates with give Te'o a hard time about this girlfriend business, or will it be largely forgotten or ignored by them?

Ed Bouchette: I think they'll ignore it. If it happened to someone they were really close to already, they might tease him about it. They had a guy in their locker room who nearly ran over some cops and could have killed someone, and they welcomed him back.

T22POST: Ed, do you think we take Lacy from Alabama with our first pick?

Ed Bouchette: That would be way to high for him.

blue 4: as a native son of Sacramento, are you sad the Kings are moving to Seattle?

Ed Bouchette: Never even been in Sacramento, and who are these Kings you speak about?

Ed Bouchette: Thanks all for another good chat. I'm not sure about next week yet because of the Super Bowl. We'll post when we have a time/day.