Wallace is definitely worth getting a long-term deal with Pittsburgh, but looking at the financial status of the franchise, it might be better to slap the franchise tag on the Pro Bowl receiver. If this is what is going to be done, then it better get done quickly by General Manager Kevin Colbert. The deadline to apply the franchise tag is March 3^rd. This may give the Steelers a little wiggle room in their salary cap for the 2012 NFL season.

Meanwhile, the Steelers have made moves earlier this offseason to free up more space. The contracts for cornerback Bryant McFadden and receiver Arnez Battle were terminated. Linebackers Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley have already restructured their contracts, as well as cornerback Ike Taylor and right tackle Willie Colon. Also, Pro Bowl veterans Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison said that they are willing to restructure their contracts in order to make more cap room.

In addition, let’s not forget Hines Ward. Ward said openly that he is willing to take a pay cut in order to stay in the Steel City. However, the likelihood of Colbert bringing back Ward for another season might be slim to none. I know morally, the right thing to do is to let the 14-year veteran finish his career where he started, but unfortunately, at the end of the day this is a business.

Hopefully, Art Rooney II, and the rest of the front office can find a way to get under the cap for the signings of the incoming rookies from the 2012 NFL Draft and other potential free agents.

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Imagine the Steelers last season without the presence of Mike Wallace. Sure, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown each had great seasons and are turning into fine young receivers themselves, but without Wallace’s deep threat ability the defense would be able to have more defenders playing up tight. Defenses must keep a safety back at all times when they are playing against Wallace, or they will surely get burnt one or more times during the game.

The franchise tag was implemented by the NFL as tool for teams to keep a player who is scheduled to become a free-agent. Last year, the likes of Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, and Haloti Ngata were designated by their respective teams as the franchise player. Some teams use the tag as insurance to keep that player and hope to resign them the following off-season. This could perhaps be the strategy the Steelers are thinking; Pittsburgh is about $11 million over the salary cap, and the tag would allow them to keep him for at least one more season and free up room to sign him next year.

The Hiring of Todd Haley as offensive coordinator could mean that the offense will start to run the ball more, which translates into not needing the wide receivers to be as involved as they were in the past few seasons. Still, the speed of Wallace cannot be undervalued.

Pittsburgh must do all they can to make sure Mike Wallace is around for years to come. It would be nice if they sign him to a long-term deal, but that is probably wishful thinking due to their salary cap situation.

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Now we all know that Haynesworth is known for his checkered past throughout his NFL career. There is the incident when he stomped on the head of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode in 2006 while he was a member of the Tennessee Titans. Then there was the conditioning test that Haynesworth continuously failed during the offseason in 2010 as a Washington Redskin. Then was later was suspended by the team late in the season for conduct detrimental to the team. Finally, there was Haynesworth’s release from the New England Patriots this past season after a confrontation with one of the Patriots’ coaches, which resulted in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers claiming him off waivers on November 10, 2011.

The ten-year veteran in now a free agent after being released by the Buccaneers just two days ago.

Looking at the big picture, both Haynesworth and the Steelers could benefit from this. Haynesworth is in no position to ask for a big contract, since hardly any team is willing to take a chance on him. As for Pittsburgh, they could use his size (6’6”, 350 lbs.) on the defensive line, and get that for a cheap price—considering the fact that they’re $25-30 million over the salary cap.

This addition could also add much needed depth to the interior of the defensive line. Nose tackle Casey Hampton will be coming off of an offseason recovering from a knee injury sustained in the wildcard loss to the Denver Broncos, and the rotation of Haynesworth will only help Hampton stay fresh throughout the upcoming season. Also, Pittsburgh’s backup nose tackle, Steve McLendon, is undersized at 280 pounds.

I’m not saying that this should be a long-term move for the Steelers, because both Haynesworth and Hampton are not getting any younger. However, it will help groom the nose tackle that Pittsburgh will more than likely get in the 2012 NFL Draft. This might be a long shot, but it just might work.

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Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert told www.steelers.com what he thought of the status of Mendenhall for the 2012 season.

“Potentially Rashard Mendenhall might not be ready for camp,” said Colbert. “In my mind, I never feel good about an ACL until a year. I am not a doctor but that’s just my mindset. If he gets back before then, to me it’s a bonus. Is he a potential candidate for the PUP List? Absolutely.”

Looking for a running back via free agency may not be an option for Pittsburgh, since they will be $25-30 million over the salary cap for 2012. So the Steelers may be left with a running back-by-committee with Isaac Redman, Mewelde Moore, and John Clay.

As important as it is to provide Ben Roethlisberger with a solid running game, it is even more important to add some much-needed talent on both the offensive and defensive lines.

Redman has shown late in the 2011 regular season and in the wildcard loss to the Denver Broncos that he is capable of caring the load as a starter. And with Moore and Clay added to the mix, along with some possible additions to the o-line through the draft, and the return of a healthy Maurkice Pouncey at center, Pittsburgh’s running game should be good enough to complement the passing game.

This should give Mendenhall a reason not to try too hard to come back from a very serious injury, which could further hurt his career.

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I do agree that those three positions will be vital to the Steelers’ success. The offensive line needs to find a better way to protect Ben Roethlisberger. The defensive line needs a potential replacement for the aging and ailing Casey Hampton. Also, the secondary needs some added depth, especially since the contract of cornerback Bryant McFadden was terminated.

However, I also feel that other positions like wide receiver and running back need to be focused on as well.

With the predicted departure of veteran receiver Hines Ward and the uncertainty of the health of running back Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh should definitely make quality picks for these two positions.

Kiper’s expertise in the NFL Draft over the years has been heavily taken into consideration by a lot of other draft predictors.

According to James Tate, an analyst of www.bleacherreport.com, Kiper is predicting that the Steelers will pick University of Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe in the first round. Tate states that Poe would add much needed depth to the defensive line, but questions his ability to play against top competition.

“As Kiper points out, the Steelers defense is aging, and a 3-4 defense is only as good as the nose tackle in the middle of the line, said Tate. “There is no doubt Pittsburgh needs to upgrade there.

“The only problem with Poe is that he has not played against the level of competition you would like to see from a first-round pick. He dominated the guys he played against, but 99 percent of the guys he played against will have to have a ticket to get into an NFL game.”

Looking beyond the first round of the draft, www.draftsite.com lays out predictions for all seven of the Steelers draft picks:

1. Mike Adams (OT, Ohio State)
2. Alameda Ta’amu (DT, Washington)
3. Dan Herron (RB, Ohio State)
4. Ryan Lindley (QB, San Diego State)
5. Brandon Taylor (S, LSU)
6. Donnie Fletcher (CB,Boston College)
7. Mario Kurn (DE, San Diego)

Ward was not much of factor this past season. The emergence of the Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders limited his role in the offense. Ward’s age could have also been a reason why he wasn’t on the field that much. He has surely has lost a step or two.

Despite Ward’s past success and contribution, the NFL is all about what have you done for me now. In 2011, Ward’s numbers were the lowest since his rookie season. He only caught 46 passes for 381 yards with 2 touchdowns.

Ward was scheduled to make $4 million in the last two years of his contract. The fact is no team in the league is willing to pay this kind of money for a receiver who cannot contribute on every down.

If the report is indeed true, it will be a sad day for Steelers fans across the country. Ward has been one of fan favorites ever since he arrived in the Steel City. He will go down as one of the best Steelers in the franchise’s history.

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CNBC has all of the details, but in short, Paladin spent most of Super Bowl weekend with Steelers Pro Bowler Antonio Brown.  Brown sent out a tweet, asking for details about what was happening in Indy.  Paladin responded by asking Brown to go to lunch with him.  From there, the friendship escalated to dinner, workouts, a Indiana Pacers game, and Brown picking up the tab at a birthday party.

This is an incredible story.  Fans now have a way to interact personally with athletes.  It was also a wonderful gesture by Brown, who really wanted to get closer to his fans.  He gave Paladin a weekend that he’ll never forget and I’m sure there’s a lot more Steelers fans in Indy right now.

I wonder what athlete will be the next one to use Twitter like Brown did.  Fans of every team would love to be able to spend a weekend with their favorite athletes.  Maybe Brown started a trend that will fulfill the dreams of sports fans everywhere.

They have signed CB Myron Rolle, WR Juamorris Stewart, and LB Brandon Hicks. Rolle, who played college ball at Florida State, was one of the best players at his position coming out of high school.

Rolle played safety for the Seminoles before making the switch to corner in the NFL. He is better known for his decision to opt-out of the 2009 Draft in order to pursue a Master of Science Degree at Oxford University. He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the 6th round of the 2010 Draft, then released him prior to this season.

In addition to adding these three players, the Steelers have terminated the contracts of CB Bryant McFadden and WR Arnaz Battle. They have also waived LB Erik Clanton and TE Miguel Chavis.

Haley, who was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs for the past two seasons, will bring a run-oriented game plan to the Steelers offense. He went 19-26 with the Chiefs. Haley was a coordinator for 10 years before being hired as a head coach. He was the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals when they reached Super Bowl XLIII, ironically against Pittsburgh.

The Steelers organization has ties with the Haley family in the past. Todd’s father, Dick, served as the director of team personnel from 1971-90. Todd said he is happy to be back in the city where he spent the majority of his childhood. “I am excited to come back home and work for a tremendous organization. It is an honor to work with the Rooney family and Coach Tomlin and continue the success that has become synonymous with the Steelers.”

The hire of Haley is clearly a sign of drastic changes to come for the Pittsburgh offense. Under Arians the Steelers became a pass first offense. Haley loved to run the ball when he was with the Chiefs. In 2010, the Chiefs led the league in rushing attempts with 556.

This could potentially be a brilliant hire. The Steelers need to limit the amount of hits that Ben Roethlisberger takes throughout a game. The running game is a quarterback’s best friend. It will also setup the play-action for big play potential down-field. The Steelers have three explosive receivers that can beat most cornerbacks. A good running game will open up the field for the whole offense.

The Steelers need to solidify their offensive line to be able to control the line of scrimmage. If they can sure up the o-line, they have the potential to be a very strong running team. Rashard Mendenhall and Issac Redman are solid running backs and compliment each other very well.

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For the second straight year, Bettis has failed to receive enough votes to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2012 will be former Steelers Jack Butler and Dermontti Dawson, along with Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Curtis Martin, and Willie Roaf.

Although all of these players very much deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, the voting committee definitely could have made room for the sixth-leading rusher of all-time.

In addition, Bettis’ list of accomplishments gives even more of a reason to vote him into the Hall:

• AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1993)
• Six-time Pro Bowler
• Three-time All-pro
• Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time leading rusher (ahead of Steeler-great Franco Harris, who is also in the Hall of Fame)
• Tied for third with four other players for most 1,000-yard rushing seasons all-time with eight (three of those four are Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett, Franco Harris, and Thurman Thomas. The other is future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlison)

And if that isn’t enough proof to show that he should be in the Hall, Jerome Bettis has one thing that all of the other members of the Class of 2012 does not have, a Super Bowl ring!

Even though Jerome Bettis will not join the fraternity of football giants this year, his resume should definitely ensure him his rightful place among the greatest of the great in the very near future.

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