FanHouse Trai Essex

As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.

For three years I rewatched every Steelers game with an eye on the offensive line. And a good bit of the time, it wasn't pretty. Whether it was a debacle against the Raiders in 2006 or the mass of confusion against the Eagles in 2008, there have been plenty of lowlights.

After watching the Steelers win the Super Bowl last year despite a struggling offensive line, I kind of figured that if everything went well, Pittsburgh could figure out a way to do it again. They had enough defense and enough skill position players on offense to make up for the offensive line's problems.

Over at NFL.com, there's a new feature called "O-Line Confidential" which consists of the five Steelers' offensive lineman sitting around the dinner table at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse talking football.

It's a great feature, hopefully just the first of a series as the Steelers' o-linemen offer some insight, show some humor and give everyone a chance to get know a group that is relatively anonymous in general. During the segment they also make it known that they aren't real happy with all the criticism they hear, which makes sense considering no group is probably more criticized than the Steelers' offensive line.

The old days of Pittsburgh being known as a team unwilling to spend the big bucks need to buried and forgotten. Pittsburgh capped off an extremely busy offseason of signings by re-signing defensive end Brett Keisel to a four-year contract extension.

By re-signing Keisel, Pittsburgh now has re-upped James Harrison, Max Starks, Heath Miller, Chris Kemoeatu, Trai Essex and Hines Ward during this offseason. While that still leaves a significant number of Steelers heading into the final year of their contracts (Casey Hampton, Willie Parker, Ryan Clark, Willie Colon and Jeff Reed are the most notable) it is a clear sign that Pittsburgh is willing to spend the money to keep the bulk of the Super Bowl champs together.

Two games into the preseason, the Steelers are a good bit closer to deciding which offensive linemen will be making the 53-man roster, and it's remarkable how much the conventional wisdom has changed from what we thought we knew during the summer.

Kraig Urbik was supposed to battle for a starting job at guard. Instead, he's likely to make the team entirely on the basis of future potential, as he hasn't shown that he's capable yet of contributing to the 2009 Steelers. Guard/tackle Ramon Foster has gone from a little known undrafted free agent to someone whose not only nearly a sure-bet to make the roster, but also someone who could make the 46-man active roster this season. And Doug Legursky has gone from being a practice squad player to a productive fill-in on the first team.

The Steelers have apparently decided that last year's offensive line was good enough to keep around.

After franchising Max Starks, tendering Willie Colon and re-signing Chris Kemoeatu, the Steelers brought back a fourth member of the gang on Tuesday, signing backup Trai Essex to a three-year, $2 million deal. The deal means the Steelers will likely open the season with the same top six linemen as the group that dressed for the Super Bowl.

It's worth noting that the rest of the NFL appears to have the same opinion as the Steelers fans of the Steelers offensive linemen. Essex's deal is one of the smallest free-agent contracts any offensive lineman has signed this offseason, while Kemoeatu's five-year, $20 million deal is paltry for a starting offensive guard.

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As they create room in the trophy case for a sixth Lombardi Trophy, the Steelers also have some decisions to make. Four of the team's top five offensive tackles are free agents (although Willie Colon is only a restricted free agent), as are starting cornerback Bryant McFadden and No. 3 receiver Nate Washington.

But according to Sports Illustrated's Don Banks, the Steelers have already decided on their top free agent priority. Banks says the Steelers plan to try to re-up McFadden before free agency begins on Feb. 27. With $19 million in cap room, Pittsburgh has some room to get McFadden under contract while also either re-upping Max Starks or trying to bring in free agent offensive line help.

The Steelers have managed to survive multiple injuries this year, but they have reached the end of the line: if one more offensive lineman gets hurt, the already awful unit will likely fall apart.

When Darnell Stapleton went down with a knee injury in the second half of the Chargers game, Trai Essex, an okay pass blocker and pretty poor run-blocking left tackle, came in to replace him. Stapleton was already playing as the replacement for the injured Kendall Simmons, while Max Starks is playing left tackle in place of the injured Marvel Smith.

Thankfully, Stapleton was able to return to the game, but when he was out, it pointed out just how thin the Steelers now are along the line. Essex is now the primary backup at all five offensive line positions -- if Justin Hartwig goes down, Stapleton would slide to center and Essex would replace him. If Willie Colon went down, Max Starks would slide to right tackle and Essex would play left tackle, and Essex would come in and play either guard spot.

If you ever had any doubt that there is a serious disconnect between the Steelers coaching staff and the Steelers front office, that was dispelled on Sunday night. And if there was any question that the decision to slap a transition tag on Max Starks ranks as one of the worst decisions in the history of free agency in the NFL, it was also cleared up.

Marvel Smith, the Steelers' starting left tackle, left the Jaguars game at the start of the fourth quarter with cramps. Given the choice of sending in Starks, the $6.9 million backup, or Trai Essex, the Steelers chose Essex. Starks is a former starting right tackle on a Super Bowl team, who also played reasonably well as a fill-in left tackle last year when Smith went down with a back injury. Essex is a disappointing fourth-year left tackle prospect who has never been ahead of Starks on the depth chart--until now.

Essex, of course, then allowed a sack on his first snap.

In case you're wondering Starks is active--with three defensive linemen hurt as well as two running backs, it's not hard to find enought players for the inactive list.

It's very hard to how its possible that the same team that could offer Starks nearly $7 million would then view him as only a backup right tackle. Clearly the front office believes Starks can play, while the coaching staff must despise him.

The Steelers got a big win on Monday night, but they also suffered a lot of losses.

Starting guard Kendall Simmons tore an Achilles tendon. First-round pick and defacto starting tailback Rashard Mendenhall broke his shoulder. Both are headed to the injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season. This is the latest malady for Simmons who missed a season with a torn ACL early in his career and had to adjust to playing with diabetes a couple of years ago. Mendenhall broke his shoulder on a particularly hard (but fair) hit from linebacker Ray Lewis.

The Steelers will likely replace Simmons with either Trai Essex or Darnell Stapleton, although the way to get the best five on the field would be to move Willie Colon inside to guard while Max Starks slides into the right tackle spot.

The addition of Tony Hills and the puzzling decision to re-sign Max Starks would seem to eliminate Jason Capizzi's chances of making the 2008 Steelers squad. With the coaching staff's decision to keep Willie Colon at tackle, Marvel Smith's return at left tackle, and the decision to bring back Trai Essex (pictured) for another season, that's five tackles for a team that's could keep only four.

But then you read stories like the one Jim Wexell just wrote, and it's easy to wonder if the Steelers will have to figure out some way to keep Capizzi around.

Last summer was a joyride for Jason Capizzi. He was the super sleeper out of IUP, the hometown longshot who captured imaginations as a post-draft steal, a 6-9 offensive tackle with great feet. Word had it that Kevin Colbert was talking him up big behind closed doors. And then Capizzi got cut. Dream over. Until now.

While he's not the fresh name reporters love to discuss, he is drawing raves from behind closed doors. "He'll amaze you," said one source with the team.