Steelers Morning Huddle 4/28/13

April 26, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin (left) and president Art Rooney II (center) react as they listen to linebacker Jarvis Jones speak at the UPMC Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Steelers fans!  If  you had a draft hangover after Round One, I bet it’s even worse now!  I think the flurry of Undrafted Free Agent Signings after the draft concluded was more exciting than some of the draft action.  I picked a sampling of the articles and blogs out there following all of the latest signings.

The Steelers signed a bucket-full of UDFA’s after the draft concluded.  There weren’t the only team to do so.  Mike Florio, of NBC, put together a list of the UFDA’s and highlighted the signing of Mike Golic, Jr. from Notre Dame to the offensive line.  The way he put the title there, you would think he has a grudge against the Mike Golic, Sr, an ESPN morning talk show host.

Garry Dulac, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, assessed the Steelers draft “performance.”  He includes quotes from both Mike Tomlin, Todd Haley, and Kevin Colbert about how they felt about the draft.  If you want to read a non-critical account, this is the one.   You would think the football Gods couldn’t do a better job.  Dulac just glows with praise:

"But, after drafting nine players and addressing each of their biggest needs in the first four rounds, the Steelers did a deft job of sticking to the board and filling positions with players who have a chance to help make up for some of their significant losses.”"

OK, I’ll buy that the Steelers stuck to their plan, but I’m not ready to anoint Colbert and company as geniuses (genii?).  We all know that trying to figure out who will cut it and succeed in the NFL can be sort of like going to Vegas with a plan to triple your money  at the blackjack table with your sure-fire method for playing instead of putting in a nice, low-interest, FDIC-insured bank account.  It’s a gamble.  I think it remains to be seen if this draft helps the Steelers.  I’m on the fence about how I feel about it.   Tomlin and Colbert were also very upbeat after the draft in the presser, but who would expect them to be otherwise.  You can watch it at Steelers.com.

Feb 24, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Landry Jones participates in a passing drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers 4th round pick sparked a lot of discussion as people absorb that the Steelers selected a quarterback.  Mike Wilkening, of NBC, sees multiple benefits at taking Landry Jones but doesn’t see him as a potential starter.   Maggie Hendricks, at Yahoo, notes that it’s the month of the draft for Landry and his wife Whitney Hand who was drafted earlier this month to the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars.  She highlights the ties between spouses:

"At Oklahoma, she was teammates with Carlee Roethlisberger, the sister of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben. Jones and Roethlisberger will already have common ground on the first day of training camp.”"

I’m not sure that’s going to matter in the cold-blooded business that is the NFL, but it makes for a mushy human interest moment.  Also, I’m not sure what they are going to do with Landry Jones if they don’t put the time in to develop him into a NFL-caliber quarterback.  Clearly, the Steelers understand that they need to spend some time and effort with the back-up quarterback position with the signing of Bruce Gradowski.  I saw several tweets immediately following the announcement that Charlie Batch’s days with the Steelers are over.  I have to agree that Batch’s age makes it unlikely for him to continue on the active roster.  However, I think it is entirely possible that Batch could move into other positions in the organization.  He’s extremely popular and has always represented the Steelers well in off-the-field activities.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him somewhere on staff.

Some blogs are starting to look at players currently on the Steelers roster who might not be coming back after the recent signings.  In particular, Steelers Depot was looking at several linebackers.  They note that Sean Spence’s injury from last year might have been career ending.  According to Steelers Depot, Spence’s injury may have damaged a nerve.   The same website also discusses how Stevenson Sylvester has some tough competition this year.

There are a ton of articles and opinions out there on all the draft action, but I’m cutting it off here.  What I really care about is:  How do you feel Steeler Nation?  Do you like the draft picks?  Do you think the Steelers missed out on some obvious opportunities?  Take our poll below or give specific comments by replying to this article or any of the other article on the NicePickCowher site.