Plaxi-goes to the Jets

Plaxico Burress signed with the Jets today. The deal with the Steelers never materialized because the Steelers are still over the salary cap by about $3 million (we have 3 $1million exceptions that get us in just under the wire). I expect at least 1 veteran to restructure his deal for a lot less money or someone or two is getting cut. Aaron Smith had dinner with Omar Kahn the other night and I imagine that they talked about this. Smith is scheduled to make around $4.5 million this year. If he doesn't restructure then I would expect Larry Foote and Limas Sweed to be cut. Foote is going to make $2.5 million and Sweed is around $500k. We also would like to work out long-term deals for Lamarr Woodley (our franchise player), Mike Wallace and Troy Polamalu (both of their contracts are up at the end of the season). Look for more moves by the Steelers but not in the way of signing outside talent.

The Steeler Way

I know that around the league when people say "The Steeler Way" of doing things, it either sends a feeling of pride through the veins of a Steeler lover and a shiver of jealousy through the bones of the Steeler haters. But I think we saw 3 examples of "The Steeler Way" today from three players who love their team and what has become their town.

First, there was Willie Colon. I have been listening to Willie, on Sirius NFL radio for the last year, talk about how much he loves the Steelers and that he didn't want to play anywhere else. Some people questioned that loyalty because they knew that Willie would receive free agent offers from other teams that could very well rival what the Steelers could or would offer him. Willie agreed to a 5 year, $29 million contract with the Steelers today. You might say that $29 million buys you a lot of loyalty. But when a player is offered $3 million more dollars by another team (10% more than the Steelers were offering) and he has just come back from a serious injury, I think you can assume that he values "The Steeler Way".

The other two Steeler players that I am referring to are Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace. James Walker, who writes the AFC North blog for ESPN, tweeted "after being told WR Emmanuel Sanders is aiming for 1000 yards, Mike Wallace then said his goal is 2000 yards receiving". This might be the most competitive group of wide receivers we have seen since Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were chewing Terry Bradshaw's ears off for the football. Word was that last year, the competition between Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders was so fierce, that coaches struggled up until gametime to decide who would be activated.

All in all, this team is a fiercely competitive one and failure is NOT an option.

Photo courtesy of Steelers.com

Plaxico Redux?

Maybe they think we will only remember the good times. Maybe they think you can go home again. Maybe they believe this time will be different. What I recall about the Plaxico era in the Burgh was a guy who had some spectacular catches and games (I was at the tie game vs Atlanta in 2002), and some seriously bad screwups (spiking the ball 2 separate times before being called down by the referees). We know that Ben would love to have him back, but at what cost? Are we forced to cut Randle El who is a dual threat at receiver and punt returner? Does this mean that we have to cut somewhere else to save money (we are still $10million over the salary cap). I just don't see where this helps the Steelers. We have Ward, Wallace, Sanders and Brown that are the core receiving group (and don't forget Heeeeeeeath). How many catches would Plax have in that rotation anyway? Plax isn't a necessity and I just don't see him being a priority right now. I say pass ON Plax, not pass TO Plax.