Steelers Morning Huddle 4/1/2014
By Kim Myers
Nov 10, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) and the Steelers offense huddles before running a play against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 23-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Steelers season goes all year long so whether we’re breaking down free agency signings, predicting the possible draft choices, or looking around for mentions of your Black & Gold we’ve got you covered. Here’s what’s being said about your Pittsburgh Steelers around the block.
Steelers done in free agency?
ESPN’s Scott Brown thinks there’s a good chance the Steelers will wrap up their free agency signings for the time being and focus all their attention towards next month’s NFL Draft. Mostly considering the fact that the signing of LeGarrette Blount basically put them right at the salary cap so they really can’t sign anyone else without moving some money around first. It doesn’t look like they’re going to be restructuring the contract of Lawrence Timmons, who many have suggested would be a relatively easy contract to restructure. Maybe that’s a good thing since they’ve been in such a habit of doing those restructures each offseason and then dealing with the fallout in the future with contracts that are back loaded with all that dead money. If they can make all the moves they need to make without doing that, it’s probably for the best, right?
Bonds & Stewart most hated Pittsburgh athletes?
Everyone’s favorite curmudgeon, Ron Cook of the PPG weighed in on the topic of the Pittsburgh Pirates move to bring back Barry Bonds for their Opening Day ceremonies to present Andrew McCutchen with his 2013 National League MVP trophy. He said that Barry Bonds was by far Pittsburgh’s most hated former athlete and said that not even former Steelers QB Kordell Stewart came close, although he lived under “absurd scrutiny” and also had to “deal with more haters because he is black”. While I remember when the emotions started to turn against Kordell, I agree with Ole Ronny here when he says that Stewart isn’t even in the same ballpark (no pun intended) as Bonds as far as hatred from Yinzers. Clearly because Stewart felt comfortable enough to come back to Pittsburgh in May of 2012 and officially retire as a Steeler and because reports from Pirates Opening Day were that Bonds was met with a combination of boos and cheers from the crowd.
NFL Passes new rule
In a super-secret meeting held by a majority of the NFL owners and Roger Goodell the NFL passed a new rule that would make it illegal to hit any quarterback not named Ben Roethlisberger. Obviously, the Rooney’s were not present in this meeting and the NFL purposely held them out of the super-secret meeting so the rule could pass without opposition. Starting with the 2014 season, it will now be a roughing the passer penalty to make any kind of contact, incidental or otherwise with a quarterback, provided his name isn’t Ben Roethlisberger. The delegation had debated on whether or not to include Gradkowski in the rule but didn’t have enough time to check the accurate spelling of his name after spending all their time making sure they had “Roethlisberger” spelled correctly to make it into the rule book. Hopefully, new offensive line coach Mike Munchak really does work his magic on the line this year because they will have a tough task protecting Ben as he’ll be the only quarterback in the league anyone can hit without a penalty flag being thrown.
What do you think about the new rule passed, Steeler Nation? Happy April Fool’s Day!
**Disclaimer. Obviously the story regarding the NFL’s new rule is a joke and is intended only to give a chuckle, do not protest Goodell or any of the other owners in response to this rule I just made up**
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