Santonio Holmes Traded?

Santonio Holmes was traded by the Steelers for a 5th round pick to the NY Jets. This is a ridiculous trade from where Im looking just to prove a point. He has had some problems, but why trade a super bowl mvp for a 5th round pick that seems a bit much. He has been an excellent number 2 reciever and helped the Steelers out often.

Pre Draft Player Visits

The Steelers have brought in 14 players to look at for the upcoming draft. 5 offensive players and 9 defensive players have come in to visit.

Pre Season Schedule

Steelers pre season schedule has been set. First a home game vs Detroit, then road games against the Giants and the Broncos, and finally back to Heinz Field to play the Panthers. This is a good pre season schedule, to help the team prepare for the regular season.

Charlie Batch to Stay in Pittsburgh

Charlie Batch has signed a two year contract to stay in Pittsburgh. If he finishes the contract that will be a decade he has been with the team. He has been an excellent back up QB and helps the team however he can. He has been the number two man for many years, but will have to fight for that spot against Dennis Dixon this upcoming season.

Performance Pay

William Gay gets 325,000 in performance based pay for his excellent playing skills.

3 Free Picks

The Steelers get three compensatory picks in the NFL draft. It comes from losing unrestricted free agents and not signing any more. They will get the 33rd and 35th pick in the 5th round and a pick in the 7th round. This will give them 10 overall picks. This could be very useful for the team and may help them pick up some players they need.

New Tackle Signed

Jonathan Scott has been signed to the Steelers at the tackle position.

Randle El and Foote Back on Roster

Antwaan Randle El and Larry Foote have both returned back to the Steelers. Randle El had been playing for Washington, and Foote Detroit. Randle El was the 2nd pick by the Steelers in 2002, and Foote the 4th. Its good to have Randle El back at reciever, because he is a very effective one, and Foote is an excellent linebacker.

Ben Roethlisberger in Legal Trouble Again

Ben Roethlisberger has again been accused of sexual misconduct. In a charge filed against him Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault by a woman at a nightclub in Georgia. Police are sketchy on the details at this time and we will have to see how it plays out. I believe this is just a way for the woman to get money and try and ruin his image. Why would a professional athelete of his caliber need to sexually assault a woman in a night club? Im sure that the charges will go away, and may end up in civil court so that the women can gain some money.

Restricted Free Agents

Willie Colon, William Gay, Daniel Sepulveda, and Matt Spaeth have all become restricted free agents for the Steelers. This means that teams would have to compensate the Steelers if they do not meet the offers another team makes. Willie Colon is worth a 1st round pick, Gay is worth a 5th, Sepulveda a 4th, and Spaeth a
3rd round pick. I hope Willie Colon and William Gay remain in Pittsburgh, because they are excellent players and have helped the team. Sepulveda is a good punter, but punters are everywhere. Spaeth is a good TE, and i would like to see him stay, but its up to him and the offers he recieves.

18th

Steelers get 18th pick in the 2010 NFL draft.

New hall of famer

Dick Lebeau has finally been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. He was inducted for his time as a cornerback for the Lions. He has been a great asset to the Steelers with his excellent defensive coaching, and ability to get the team ready for every game.

EMU Inductee

Charlie Batch has been inducted into Eastern Michigan's athletic hall of fame for the class of 2009. He holds many of the schools athletic records and has been a great supporting QB for the Steelers as well.

Courtesy of: NFL.com

Jeff Reed-2010 Franchise Player

The Steelers have decided to give Jeff Reed the franchise tag. This tag allows the Steelers to offer the first contract to him when he becomes a free agent, and he is paid the average of the highest paid players at his position. Jeff Reed is 2nd on the Steelers all-time scoring list with 855. I think this is a good idea, because Jeff Reed is a consistent kicker, and has often helped the Steelers in important situations.

Image courtesy of: Behindblondiepark.com

Casey Hampton Decides to Stay

The Steelers best defensive lineman and 5 time ProBowler has decided to remain with the team after doubt that he would stay. Casey Hampton has agreed to a 3 year contract with the Steelers. This would run through 2012, the financial status of the deal has not been released however. I personally think this is great since he has been a huge part of this team and him staying will help the team to transition the younger defensive players. Ever since his rookie season I have watched Hampton disrupt offenses and stop the run. Thats what he does, and as all Steelers fans know, the main point of the Steelers defense.

Photo:NBC Sports

Steelers possible draft choices

The steelers may need to draft either defensively or o-line in the first round. Last year the line struggled to protect Roethlisberger and the defense let leads slip away. Terrence Cody is a possible pick on the defensive size due to his size and style of play. He would fit in with the steelers as a run stopper. He is 6/5 365 lbs and would play well beside or for casey hampton. Another good prospect would be a CB such as Patrick Robinson from Florida St. He is an all around solid cornerback, and the Steelers somewhat struggled at that position last year.

Steelers place "cap" on themselves

The Steelers have decided that although all teams would be allowed to forgo the salary cap this year, they will put the normal cap on themselves. The organization believes that it would be better to stick to the normal and not have to possibly correct this problem next year when a new contract may come out. If a new contract can't be reached by the fall, then there would be no salary cap altoghether. This would be the first time since '93 there would'nt be a cap.

New Pro Scout

Brandon Hunt has been just been hired as the pro scout coordinator. He started in Pittsburgh, but then went to the Texans from 2007 until now and has returned.

Steelers sign new WR

Steelers signed Brandon London as a backup WR. He most recently played for the Dolphins and only has a few catches, but has shown improvement and will hopefully be a good addition to the team.

Free agency in Pittsburgh

the time for free agency has come around in the NFL, and there will probably not be a lot of signings from the Steelers. They often don't use free agency has an option to help build the franchise, unless it is to keep their own players who have entered into the free agency stage of their contract. Players currently on the team such as Ryan Clark and James Farrior only made the team because players the Steelers wanted either left the team or couldn't be signed. Casey Hampton, Jeff Reed, and Ryan Clark will likely be their biggest concerns during free agency as they are great players on the team. Hopefully they will choose to remain in Pittsburgh.

Steelers- Why didn't they make the playoffs

In my opinion, we missed the playoffs because of a lack of defense in the 4th quarter. How many times had Roethlisberger led us down the field for a score, and the other team come back with a victory in the last couple minutes of the game. For some reason the defense couldn't save us from a five game slide against teams like Oakland, KC Chiefs, and the Browns. I mean the Browns and the Chiefs that is terrible. Hopefully the once great defense, will work to improve during the offseason.

Photo: Steelers.com