FanHouse Ricardo Colclough

And things were going so well for Ricardo Colclough, the former Steelers second-round pick who, after being released last season, made a brief stop in Cleveland before settling with the Panthers this spring.

Colclough recovered a fumble against his former team in the preseason finale on Thursday, but now, some 24 hours later, he's in danger of again being unemployed. Partly because of his on-field performance -- he failed to win a return job -- but also because of an early morning cuffing-and-stuffing, courtesy of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Carolina Panthers cornerback Ricardo Colclough has been arrested and charged with driving while impaired.

Colclough was arrested at 2:35 a.m. Saturday, hours before the Panthers must make their final cuts. Mecklenburg County jail records showed Colclough was being held on $1,000 bond.

A team spokesman admitted to knowing about the arrest, but wouldn't comment. Something about having to fill out a pink slip and set up an exit interview. There were also unconfirmed reports that when the officer tried to administer the breathalyzer it bounced off Colclough's face and was recovered by a Bengals player arrested earlier in the evening.

Whatever, this could be the end of the line for Colclough, who's had a pretty disappointing NFL career. I suppose there's always a chance he returns to Cleveland, a potential playoff team currently without a defensive backfield. He doesn't necessarily upgrade the situation, but he is a warm body.

That's right, the Browns have been reduced to the scarecrow defense: set people up in the secondary and hope they scare off would-be pass catchers. I don't even think Colclough could screw that up.

It's already been a money is no object free agency period with insane contracts flying left and right.

But as crazy as Bernard Berrian, Asante Samuel and Justin Smith's new deals may be, they have nothing on Ricardo Coclough's new contract.

It's one thing to overpay for a former Pro Bowler, or even a promising NFL starter hitting free agency for the first time, but Colclough's two-year, $4 million contract is insane because guys one step away from unemployment usually are lucky to get the veteran minimum. But in Colclough's case, he's managed to land a two-year deal despite the fact that he's played in a grand total of six games in the past two seasons. As the Associated Press story explains:

The move gives the Panthers an extra defensive back and perhaps some help with their struggling kickoff return unit.

At least it says kick return and not punt return unit, but as Steelers fans know, Colclough treats footballs like they are covered in razor blades, so the Panthers shouldn't be asking too much of their new fourth-string corner. Maybe the Panthers see something in Colclough that the Steelers and Browns missed--he does have some athletic ability--but the reality is that the Panthers likely overpaid for a guy who will struggle to stick on the roster come September.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's John Harris writes what Steelers fans have known for a while now: cornerback Ricardo Colclough just wasn't working out. And it really came as no shock when the team released him a few weeks ago. Harris adds:

At first glance, Colclough's release was viewed as business as usual in the NFL. It's a process that occurs all the time -- a team cutting loose a player who once held great promise. However, the decision to release Colclough is an admission that the Steelers reached too high to fill a need instead of drafting the best available player in selecting Colclough in the second round of the 2004 draft.

In hindsight, sure, the Steelers reached on Colclough, but to say they did it instead of drafting the best available player is just ... well, silly. First, how do we know Pittsburgh didn't have Colclough listed as the best available? Second, and more importantly, who else should they have taken? It's one thing to call them out, it's also helpful to offer alternatives to support your argument.

This won't help an already hobbled -- and, let's be frank, porous -- Browns defense. Last year's second-round pick, middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, will miss two weeks with the dreaded high-ankle sprain. If history is any guide, Jackson will be out more than two weeks, unless he's getting some fancy-pants ankle transplant. (High-ankle sprains are notoriously slow-healing, but, who am I, Trapper, John?)

The former Maryland Terrapin leads the team in tackles -- according to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, he has 60 total, and three games with 10 or more. Unfortunately, Jackson's steady play hasn't had much effect on the defense's overall effectiveness. Football Outsiders ranks the Browns 29th in total defense (31st against the pass; 18th against the run), and the Seahawks, their opponent Sunday, feature the 12th-ranked passing attack.

Of course, running back Shaun Alexander hasn't had a decent run in 11 months, so that may make the Browns' job a tad easier. And claiming former Steelers second-round pick Ricardo Colclough off waivers also "adds depth." (Although he's slightly more effective than a scarecrow in a football helmet, he might be of some help ... even if accidentally.) Or they can just leave it in the capable hands of their secret weapon.

I can't blame head coach Romeo Crennel for saying nice things about the team's newest signee, former Steelers bust second-round pick, cornerback Ricardo Colclough. But this is laying on a bit thick:

"He's a young kid who has a lot of ability," Crennel said. "I remember him when he came out. We had him (in for an interview) in New England. He has some return ability as well, so we're going to take a look at him. We think he's going to be able to help."

Apparently, the Browns were also surprised that Colclough was available on waivers, indicating to me that they never actually saw him play. The only question I had was what took so long.

To be fair, Cleveland has had a slew of injuries: cornerback Gary Baxter made his annual trip to the IR last week, and Leigh Bodden has been battling nicks and bruises all year. So, yeah, from that perspective, Colclough does add depth. But when Crennel suggest that Colclough has "some return ability," it makes me think the Browns head coach is due a drug test.

By the way, I mentioned that the Browns face the Steelers next week, and signing Colclough might have something to do with that, but Crennel calls the signing a coincidence. If anything, playing Colclough against Pittsburgh would benefit the Steelers more than the Browns. I mean, they've been burning him in practice for more than three years now.

Well, this will make the Ravens' task considerably more difficult: the team could be without starting cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle, and starting tight end Todd Heap.

FanHouse's Josh Alper wrote on Thursday that there is good news for Baltimore -- tackles Jonathan Ogden and Adam Terry should play, and Steve McNair is back from hospice, but none of these guys play defense. McAlister, nursing a sore ankle, is listed as doubtful for Monday night's game; Rolle is questionable with an undisclosed illness.

If neither can go, Baltimore will turn to Corey Ivy and Derrick Martin, which screams "NO DEPTH IN THE SECONDARY" if you're Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Of course, this assumes nobody gets murdered in the backfield, because if this game is a repeat of last year's get-togther, the Ravens won't need defensive backs.

To the larger point, though, where the hell is cornerback David Pittman? The Ravens used a third-round pick on him last year and so far ... well, nothing. Ravens24x7 offers this:

Ricardo Colclough's troubled time with the Steelers is over. Pittsburgh released the former second-rounder to re-sign cornerback Anthony Madison, a street free agent who had spent some time with the team last year.

Colclough doesn't rank as an Alonzo Jackson/Jarmain Stephens-level draft bust, but he is pretty close. For a second-round pick the Steelers got 60 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one interception and several fine examples of how not to cover wide receivers. He joins the annals of bad Steelers corners, Delton Hall, Donnell Woolford, Alvoid Mays and Hank Poteat can welcome him to the club.

But Colclough's special place in Steelers history will be as the worst returner the team has ever seen. He returned punts and kicks for parts of three seasons despite the fact that he treats the football like a happy fun ball. The mind-blowing stat is Colclough fumbled five of 54 returns in his career before Bill Cowher finally realized that he's best suited as serving as a cheerleader in Duce Staley sweats.

Well, this doesn't happen every week, but Steelers' wideout Hines Ward will miss this weekend's game against the Cardinals. In his 10-year career, Ward has missed only three starts, all since 2005.

A bum knee -- suffered last week during a two-play stretch that featured back-to-back Big Ben Medicine-ball specials that nearly got Ward decapitated -- will keep the four-time Pro Bowler in the Duce Staley memorial game-day sweats. In his absence, Cedrick Wilson and Nate Washington will get more playing time, and Wilson understands exactly what that entails:

This is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and when you put on this uniform, you know you are going to be counted on to block someone out on the perimeter," he said. "Hines does that very well, and I am proud of the way I have improved as a blocker and I know that is part of what they count on me to do."

Statistically, Ward's off to a slow start, but his blocking has been a big part of the Steelers' early-season running-game success. The Cards rank 17th against the run, so that might make Wilson's/Washington's job a tad easier, but as Amos Zereoue was so fond of saying: the guys on the other side of the field are getting paid too.

In other personnel news, cornerback Ricardo Colclough is listed as doubtful with a back injury which begs two questions: First, how the hell did he hurt his back? Second, injured or not, isn't 'doubtful' a step up from inactive?

What a difference an off-season of tedious, over-the-top special-teams drills can make. The Pittsburgh Steelers ranked 30th in 2006, according to Football Outsiders. Thanks to a perfect storm of crappy special teams play that included Chris Gardocki setting a modern-day record for 25-yard punts and touchback, the returners leading the league in fumbles and muffs, and the coverage units not covering much of anything, the Steelers finished ahead of only the Rams and Cardinals. Yeah, not good.

After hiring a new head coach, one who believes "teams" are very important -- important enough to devote three morning practices a week throughout training camp to just the coverage and return game -- Pittsburgh saw the fruits of their labor on Sunday. As FanHouser J.J. Cooper wrote, against the Browns, kicker Jeff Reed had three touchbacks, punter Daniel Sepulveda had four punts downed inside the 20, and the coverage team smothered Joshua Cribbs all day.

But it gets better: Football Outsiders' Week 1 ratings are out and the Steelers rank 8th in special teams, 8th in offense, and 1st in defense. Yeah, that the season is only a game old, and the opponent, the Browns, would struggled to make the Division I-AA playoffs, isn't lost on me. Still, when the Steelers' special teams shows any signs of improvement, it's worth noting. The sooner we can put Ricardo Colclough and Chris Gardocki behind us, the better.