James Harrison is one of the many holes Pittsburgh has to fill in 2013 (Flickr.com/daikoala)
Earlier this week, our own, Michael Waterloo looked into the “current” status of the three major sports teams in the City of Pittsburgh. The Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers. As of right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a ton of question marks on each side of the ball as they watched two more starters leave this offseason in James Harrison and Mike Wallace. Harrison should have been retained for one more year for the simple fact of the intimidation factor. “Silver back” is one of the most intimidating players we have seen in black and gold since Greg Lloyd. Mike Walllace on the other hand is a coin flip at this point, You can’t train speed as Wallace is a true burner but his soft hands were less than desirable.
Jarvis Jones has stepped in at right outside linebacker and is already making plays in training camp as LaMarr Woodley has been limited in practice due to an injury. As camp continues at St. Vincent, Jones continues to impress his coaches and peers in his reps. His high end motor is explosive when rushing the line. This is a great sign as Jason Worilds may miss time with a toe injury.
Cortez Allen had minor knee surgery this week and the lack of depth at cornerback is really beginning to be exposed. William Gay continues to get burned repeatedly by Antonio Brown. Gay, coming off an absolutely horrid 2012 season was released by the Steelers junior varsity squad the Arizona Cardinals. William Gay is a solid tackler but he simply lacks the speed to run with Antonio Brown. However, the Steelers have more concerns than Gay. Curtis Brown has had mixed results thus far in camp as he has been toasted on more than a few occasions. Terry Hawthorne and DeMarcus Van Dyke continue to miss reps at practice and beyond that, the Steelers are running out of options.
New offensive line coach, Jack Bicknell Jr. has already shown signs of frustration as his line continues to get beat badly as running backs are having a hard time finding holes. However, the offensive line is facing a stout defense led by mastermind, Dick Lebeau.
Currently speaking, the Pittsburgh Pirates are loaded with talent that can produce now and for the foreseeable future. The Pittsburgh Penguins are loaded with talent for the next decade and will compete for a Stanley Cup every year. The Pittsburgh Steelers on the other hand simply don’t have quality starters and more importantly, they don’t have the depth at key positions like cornerback that the Steelers continue to ignore during the NFL draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers “currently” are the worst of the “three” professional teams in Pittsburgh.
