The San Francisco 49ers made a pair of moves on Friday afternoon in regards to their offensive tackle position. After releasing veteranJonas Jennings, the team agreed to a two-year deal with free agent Marvel Smith, in what amounts to the swapping of one injured tackle for another.
The Steelers decision to franchise Max Starks may seem puzzling, but for a team that just won the Super Bowl, it's a pretty logical move.
By tagging Starks, Pittsburgh ensures that it doesn't head into free agency with a gaping hole. With Starks locked up, Pittsburgh could start the season with Starks, Kendall Simmons, Justin Hartwig, Darnell Stapleton and Willie Colon. It's not a good line; in fact, it's a pretty poor one, but it's not really any worse than the one that won the Super Bowl.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
For the second time in four years, the Steelers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, which means no matter what happens this offseason, Steelers fans have plenty of reasons to be happy. But with an easier 2009 schedule on the horizon and few big names hitting free agency, Steelers fans are ready to start thinking repeat, even if Mike Tomlin won't use that word.
Last offseason, the Steelers slapped Max Starks with the transition tag, and at the time, most people didn't know what to make of the move. Starks, the team's starting right tackle during the 2005 Super Bowl season, had lost his job to Willie Colon, and paying a backup more than $6 million to ride the pine didn't make much sense.
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.
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.
No greater authority than Mike Tomlin has admitted that the Steelers offensive line is the biggest question as the Steelers get ready for their seventh Super Bowl. Pittsburgh has an outstanding defense, a veteran quarterback and a solid group of receivers, but when it comes to the offensive line, the question is whether it could be one of the worst units to ever win Super Bowl rings.
Tomlin isn't going that far, but when asked about how the line has progressed this year, he didn't give them the standard coach-speak boilerplate about working hard and showing improvement every week:
"As far as I'm concerned, that's still the question as we sit here today," Tomlin answered.
No matter how many times you may hear John Madden and Al Michaels say otherwise, the Steelers are no longer a power running team. Jerome Bettis is long gone, and Alan Faneca now pulls to lead runs in New York.
But if the Steelers are going to harken back to the days when they could run against any defense, it will likely be in part because of their G-Power run. It was their favorite play when Faneca was the left guard and, even without Faneca, it's still a key part of Pittsburgh's playbook.
Who would have thought that the Eli-Big Ben battle would be decided in large part by Steelers long snapper Greg Warren.
Maybe that's going too far, but when Warren blew out his knee covering a punt in the fourth quarter, the game changed. The next time the Steelers lined up to punt, we quickly discovered that the Steelers don't have a backup long snapper. Linebacker James Harrison won the open audition on the sideline for a long snapper, but his attempt sailed way over punter Mitch Berger's head for a safety.
The Steelers 14-12 lead was immediately turned into a 14-14 tie with the Giants getting the ball back. Eli Manning and the Giants then drove down for the go-ahead touchdown and the Giants pass rush feasted on Ben Roethlisberger to pick up their sixth sack of the game before Roethlisberger threw his fourth INT of the game.
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 San Francisco 49ers made a pair of moves on Friday afternoon in regards to their offensive tackle position. After releasing veteran Jonas Jennings, the team agreed to a two-year deal with free agent Marvel Smith, in what amounts to the swapping of one injured tackle for another. 
The Steelers decision to franchise 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 
Last offseason, the Steelers slapped 
If you thought there was any chance that 
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 
No greater authority than 
No matter how many times you may hear John Madden and Al Michaels say otherwise, the Steelers are no longer a power running team. Jerome Bettis is long gone, and Alan Faneca now pulls to lead runs in New York.
Who would have thought that the Eli-Big Ben battle would be decided in large part by Steelers long snapper 
The Steelers got a big win on Monday night, but they also 
