Steelers Morning Huddle 5/31/13

September 9 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds (93) reacts after his sack of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (not pictured) during the first quarter at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Happy last day of May Steeler Nation, football season is inching closer!  Here is the round up of the news about the Steelers for the last 24 hours.  Bill Cowher is back in the news; those articles are at the end.

Ed Bouchette, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, looks at the pressure on Jason Worilds as he trains for the right outside linebacker position.  Bouchette seems to think there is a good chance that this will be Worilds last year with the team because of the acquisition of Jarvis Jones. Bouchette states:

"All Worilds can do is play, and maybe show some other team that he can start for them in 2014.”"

Sometimes life is about timing and between having starters in front of him and battling injury, Worilds timing may have worked against him.

Alan Robinson, of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, looks at the Steelers’ “youthful” offense.  He isn’t just looking at their age, but at their lack of experience.  Robinson, and probably other writers, are looking at statistics that show teams with this young of an offense have not been very successful in winning a championship.  Ok, that’s a fair point, but I hope it doesn’t get in the heads of these players.  If you start telling them what they can’t do, then that’s what they will start to believe.  Will it be a challenge?  Sure.  It wouldn’t be the NFL if it wasn’t.  I do like the last quote Robinson posted:

"But we’ve got a guy in the middle there (Pouncey) who has been to three consecutive Pro Bowls and has been an All-Pro, and we’ve got a guy, Ramon Foster, who has been here four years,” Adams said. “I think our youth is a good thing.”"

Steelers.com posted Kelvin Beachum’s on-the-field interview.  He was asked about learning the Center position and that Maurkine Pouncey has been helping him.  Mike Wilkening, of NBC’s Pro Football Talk, looked at the Steelers working Kelvin Beachum at center as a potential replacement if Maurkice Pouncey is injured.  Heaven knows we don’t want that to happen, but the Steelers don’t have Legursky to fall back on right now.  I guess there is still a chance that Legursky will be back – he’s still an undrafted free agent.  I would also like to think that Pouncey might not get injured this year.  Perhaps the youth will help, but I hope the inexperience is not a factor.

Steelers.com also posted and interview from LaRod Stephens-Howling.  They asked him about his adjustment from Arizona and, of course, Stephens-Howling is very upbeat and positive.

In some other Steelers-related news, former head coach Bill Austin passed away at age 84.  Austin preceeded Chuck Noll as head coach but his record of his tenure was not pretty.  There are a few player quotes about Austin and his toughness.  The Post-Gazette and the Tribune Review both published obituaries.

Now, on to the explosion of article concerning Bill Cowher.  Cowher accepted the NFL’s invitation to participate in their “Heads-up” program and the committee had their first meeting in NY yesterday.  The committee is comprised of a lot of recognizable names.  It will be interesting to see what comes out of this and I hope it is for the good.

Cowher is quoted is a few article, most are posted on NFL.com or one of their affiliates.  Here is a sampling if you need a Cowher fix:

Bill Cowher:  Benefits of youth football ‘far outweigh the negatives.‘  Cowher likes what he sees in the USA Football program and that might sway some moms and dads to let their kids play football, I guess.

Here is a video of Cowher talking about the leadership skills that kids get from playing football.

Cowher gave his opinion of the the Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley pairing.  The title of this video is the “Cowher scoffs at Roethlisberger No 61 Ranking” but the video starts about the Heads Up program.  You have to get through to about minute 1:40.  Cowher stands behind Roethlisberger and it was good to hear.  He also said that Haley’s hiring will elongate Ben’s career.  Have a listen.

That’s all I have for today.  Have a great weekend Steeler Nation!  As usual, please let me know what I missed, what you disagree with, or anything else you want to add.