Steelers football blog

Steelers will use franchise if necessary

Casey Hampton has made it clear he does not want the Steelers to use a franchise tag on him.

In less than two weeks, the Steelers may do so anyway and tell the five-time Pro Bowler that it is simply business.

By tagging Hampton, the Steelers would effectively deny the veteran nose tackle the chance to hit the open market.

"Our stance on the tag is that while we don't like to use (it), we're never going to say that we're not going to use something that is collectively bargained as a tool in this process," Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said Friday.

Translation: the Steelers will use a franchise tag on Hampton as a last resort March 5, when the free-agent signing period starts. Continue

Pro scout moves to Bills

Steelers pro scouting coordinator Doug Whaley will become the Buffalo Bills' new assistant general manager, according to multiple media reports.

Whaley was responsible for scouting Steelers opponents and evaluating pro players. Before joining the Steelers, he was an area scout with the Seattle Seahawks.

Whaley played football at Pitt and Upper St. Clair High School.

Hampton wants multi-year deal

The Steelers want Casey Hampton, an unrestricted free agent, to return to the team. The Pro Bowl nose tackle wants to stay in Pittsburgh.

How the two sides arrive at that common ground is where it gets a little complicated and potentially messy.

Hampton said Friday "it will be a problem" if the Steelers use a franchise tag and offer him a one-year contract instead of signing the accomplished veteran to a multi-year deal.

"You say we're family, and you'll take care of me. All I've done for this organization, and I feel like that's a slap in my face if you franchise me," Hampton told the Tribune-Review following a Pro Bowl practice at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. "That's not right. You don't do business like that. I want to be treated fair, and I think franchising me is not fair." Continue

Steelers hire new O-line coach

The Steelers moved quickly to hire a new offensive line coach Wednesday with the addition of former Buffalo Bills assistant Sean Kugler, according to NFL.com.

Kugler, who was released last week along with the rest of Buffalo's staff, spent two years with the Bills. He was an assistant with Detroit from 2001-2005.

Kugler replaces Larry Zierlein, who was fired last week.

Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler, considered the likely replacement for legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau when he retires, was granted permission to speak with the Miami Dolphins about that team's defensive coordinator opening, according to South Florida media reports. Continue

Arians will return for 2010

The Steelers might not be done making changes in their coaching staff, but the biggest development yesterday was the one they didn't make.

After a long and what was termed "productive" meeting with coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was told he will return as offensive coordinator in 2010, putting to rest his status after reports surfaced he would be fired.

Arians, who has one year remaining on his contract, was retained after a season in which the Steelers had a 4,000-yard quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger), two 1,000-yard receivers (Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Rashard Mendenhall) for the first time in franchise history.

No playoffs for Steelers

The Steelers took care of their part of the playoff equation and defeated the Miami Dolphins, 30-24, here today and now await a long-shot parlay of results of later games to see if they will play on.

The victory raised their record to 9-7 but they need losses by Baltimore, Denver and the New York Jets in order to make the playoffs. If any of those three win, the Steelers season will end. Baltimore is at Oakland, Denver at home to Kansas City and the Jets at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That three-team ticket was made necessary when Houston beat New England 34-27. Had the Patriots, who blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, won, the Steelers would have needed only a loss by either the Jets or Ravens to get into the playoffs. Continue

Big Ben is selected team MVP

The only surprising thing about Ben Roethlisberger earning the Steelers' MVP award yesterday is that it is the quarterback's first such honor.

Roethlisberger returns Sunday to the place where it all began for him, in Miami in 2004 in a hurricane's wake. It was his first start in a remarkable season that was like no other; he became the only rookie quarterback in history to win all 13 starts.

And it only got better: two Super Bowl victories, one in which he took over on the winning last-minute drive, and most every Steelers passing record within his grasp. Many of those were set this season when he became the first Steelers quarterback to pass for 500 yards in a game and the first to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. Continue

Woodley predicts Bengals and Pats wil rollover on Sunday

Linebacker LaMarr Woodley was not in the best of moods yesterday. He registered obvious disappointment at not making the Pro Bowl, then predicted Cincinnati and New England would conspire to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs.

"Cincinnati is probably going to go into New York and lay down for the Jets and not play them hard just because they don't want to see Pittsburgh in there," Woodley said, "because they know if we get into the playoffs we're a dangerous team."

The Steelers need at least the Bengals to beat the Jets or the Patriots to beat the Houston Texans in order to have a chance to make the playoffs, and they probably need both those games to go their way. Continue

Woodley on a tear

Ask Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley about the difference between the first half of the season and the second, and he just sort of shrugs the boulders that double as shoulders.

"I can't even really say," Woodley said. "I'm just able to get in there a little bit faster."

A half-step is about the best explanation Woodley can offer as for why he has 9 1/2 sacks in his past seven games after notching just two quarterback takedowns in the Steelers' first eight games.

The third-year veteran has been the Steelers' most disruptive defensive player in the second half of the season. And his play Sunday is a major reason why the Steelers are still clinging to the hope that they get a chance to defend their Super Bowl title.

Steelers playoff scenarios

The National Football League this morning developed a scenario in which the Steelers can make the playoffs as one of two wildcard teams from the AFC.

It is not easy. The Steelers will clinch a playoff spot this weekend if any one of the following three steps is met in its entirety:

1) Steelers win and Houston loses or ties, and New York Jets lose or tie.

2) Steelers win and Houston loses or ties and Baltimore loses or ties.

3) Steelers win and New York Jets lose or tie and Baltimore loses or ties and Denver loses or ties.