FanHouse AlanFaneca

Last November, then-Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally blew a hole in his thigh at a Manhattan night club. Not long after, the Giants "Keyshawn-ed" him, and in April they released the guy who hauled in the Super Bowl-deciding touchdown 14 months prior.

Burress has been in and out of court on illegal gun charges, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg threatened to make an example of him. Assuming Burress avoids time in the slammer, there's a chance he returns to the NFL next season. And not just because his agent Drew Rosenhaus Tweets as much (while running wind sprints!). Some players would gladly welcome Plax into their locker room.

It may not make Steelers fans feel any better, but at least we have an explanation as for why Justin Smith and Bernard Berrian were worth third-round compensatory picks while Faneca garnered the Steelers only a fifth-round pick.

The NFL announced that it has a long-time rule that any veteran with 10 years or more of experience in the league cannot earn his former team more than a fifth-round compensatory pick. So while Faneca, who just finished his 11th season, may have been worth a third-round pick on the basis of his contract, playing time and performance, the best the Steelers could do was land the first comp pick of the fifth round.

When the NFL's compensatory picks were awarded on Monday everything went according to expectations, unless you were the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While the NFL gave out four third-round picks and four fourth rounders, it determined that losing Alan Faneca and Clark Haggans (countered by the signing of Mewelde Moore) was only worth a fifth-round pick for the Steelers.

The guru of compensatory picks, AdamJT13, is baffled as he calls it the one pick that doesn't make sense in this year's comp picks.

If you thought there was any chance that Chris Kemoeatu was coming back to the Steelers, there are some pretty strong signs that he will be heading elsewhere in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Steelers already have Kendall Simmons (back from an Achilles injury) and 2008 starter Darnell Stapleton under contract for 2009. They also have a starting right tackle (Willie Colon) who almost every scout/player personnel man not employed by the Steelers believes would be better off playing guard. So the only real reason to bring Kemoeatu back is if he's willing to agree to a very reasonable deal.

But if you listen to Kemoeatu's agent, it sure sounds like he's expecting a landmark offer. And he hopes it comes from the Steelers.

The Steelers really didn't have a choice. When Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall was still on the board 22 picks into the 2008 NFL draft, Pittsburgh pretty much had to take him. Not because they needed a running back, but because Mendenhall had game-changing ability and was too good to pass up at that point in the proceedings.

Sure, Pittsburgh had gaping chasms along the offensive line -- the Sean Mahan experiment flopped and Alan Faneca took the money and ran to New York -- and they still had said gaping chasms when they selected wideout Limas Sweed a round later.

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

Every Thursday we take a close look at line play in one NFL game. Click here for all of the Between The Lines.

When Glenn Dorsey came out of college last year, he was considered the best interior defensive line in the draft, a havoc-creating defensive tackle who would not only create plays of his own, but also require enough attention to help make everyone else on the defensive line better.

The scouting reports were effusive in their praise:

Dorsey's dominance should go a long way toward helping Kansas City rebuild its defense. He should command double-teams and the Chiefs become better up the middle instantly. There were some concerns about problems with Dorsey's tibia stress fracture, which may have been the reason he was still on the board at this point. His best traits are outstanding agility and a great motor.

The Chiefs picked Dorsey with the No. 5 pick. Since many expected Dorsey to go even higher, the Chiefs were hailed for getting a steal. While that was the scouting report coming out of Louisiana State, it's hard to see much of that when you watch Dorsey against the Jets. Dorsey was facing a tough matchup, as Jets left guard Alan Faneca is one of the best guards in the league. But if this was a heavyweight fight between Dorsey and Faenca, it would have been called early in the first quarter.

While the offensive line might not represent a direct draft day decision for your roster, few areas of knowledge can offer a competitive advantage in fantasy football like having a good grasp of the various units of trench soldiers around the league. Over the course of a couple weeks, I'll break down every NFL team's offensive lines into five tiers: the crème de la crème, the highly competent, the serviceable, the grim, and the bunk.

Well folks, this is the final edition of our 2008 Offensive Line rankings - the mini series. Now I know why hardly anybody writes about offensive lines, because it is a freaking ton of work, but as I've said before, nothing envisages success in fantasy better than an understanding of the offensive line. To close it out, we'll take a close look at the "bunk" group - the worst of them all. If you have a skill player on one of these teams, you can forget about any kind of consistency. Sure, you'll see a break out game here and there, but trust me, these units are terrible. And who better to kick it off with than...

The Detroit Lions: Logic points to an improved situation on the Detroit offensive line in 2008, but if you know anything about Detroit football, logic and the Lions go together like coffee and pickles. The Roar finally anted up for a tackle in the first round of the 2008 draft in Gosder Cherilus, but while he is generally solid, his lateral movement is awful, so he will make plenty of mistakes. Logic also forgot to factor in the fact that the Lions are installing a brand new offense yet again. Apparently nobody told Detroit about the benefits of practice. How they ever expect this group to function as a unit when they are perpetually implementing new systems escapes me entirely. The left side of the line is decent with Jeff Backus at left tackle and Pro Bowl alternate, Dominic Raiola, at center. The right side will remain a mess, especially if George Foster manages to get a starting job. Until further notice, expect Detroit in the top 5 for sacks allowed and bottom five in yards per carry. What else is new?

2007 Sacks Allowed: 54

2007 Yards Per Carry: 4.0

While the offensive line might not represent a direct draft day decision for your roster, few areas of knowledge can offer a competitive advantage in fantasy football like having a good grasp of the various units of trench soldiers around the league. Over the course of a couple weeks, I'll break down every NFL team's offensive lines into five tiers: the crème de la crème, the highly competent, the serviceable, the grim, and the bunk.

Well folks, this is the final edition of our 2008 Offensive Line rankings - the mini series. Now I know why hardly anybody writes about offensive lines, because it is a freaking ton of work, but as I've said before, nothing envisages success in fantasy better than an understanding of the offensive line. To close it out, we'll take a close look at the "bunk" group - the worst of them all. If you have a skill player on one of these teams, you can forget about any kind of consistency. Sure, you'll see a break out game here and there, but trust me, these units are terrible. And who better to kick it off with than...

The Detroit Lions: Logic points to an improved situation on the Detroit offensive line in 2008, but if you know anything about Detroit football, logic and the Lions go together like coffee and pickles. The Roar finally anted up for a tackle in the first round of the 2008 draft in Gosder Cherilus, but while he is generally solid, his lateral movement is awful, so he will make plenty of mistakes. Logic also forgot to factor in the fact that the Lions are installing a brand new offense yet again. Apparently nobody told Detroit about the benefits of practice. How they ever expect this group to function as a unit when they are perpetually implementing new systems escapes me entirely. The left side of the line is decent with Jeff Backus at left tackle and Pro Bowl alternate, Dominic Raiola, at center. The right side will remain a mess, especially if George Foster manages to get a starting job. Until further notice, expect Detroit in the top 5 for sacks allowed and bottom five in yards per carry. What else is new?

2007 Sacks Allowed: 54

2007 Yards Per Carry: 4.0