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On Thursday, the Steelers parted ways with guard Kendall Simmons. It was a surprising move; not so much because of Simmons' on-field contributions -- he's been nothing more than replacement level for the last three seasons -- but because starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu was headed for free agency and Simmons' replacement, Darnell Stapleton, has only 12 career starts.

Then, on Friday morning, the New York Daily News reported that the Jets had offered Kemoeatu more than $4 million a year. By this afternoon, however, the Steelers had re-signed Kemoeatu, their former sixth-round pick, to a five-year, $20 million deal, which includes a $4 million signing bonus.

If you pay any attention to the Steelers, you probably know that guard Kendall Simmons has struggled with pass blocking, run blocking and staying healthy. But even with that, the Steelers' decision to cut Simmons on Thursday is pretty shocking considering how thin the Steelers are at guard.

Just two years after the Steelers signed Simmons to a five-year, $24 million deal, they cut him on Thursday. It leaves Pittsburgh with only one guard (Darnell Stapleton) on the current roster who has ever started a game. One would hope that this means the Steelers plan on bringing in a guard in free agency, even if Jeff Saturday, their likely No. 1 target, has re-upped with the Colts.

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.

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.

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.

The Steelers have had to survive lots of injuries this year, but if you're the type who likes to find the silver lining, it's pretty clear that the injuries have helped the Steelers' planning for 2009.

When Kendall Simmons tore his Achilles, second-year guard Darnell Stapleton stepped in and has played better than Simmons. Stapleton will almost assuredly be starting in 2009, whether in Simmons' spot or at Chris Kemoeatu's spot since Kemoeatu will be a free agent. It's hard to believe that Mike Tomlin and the Steelers front office would have been comfortable turning a job over to Stapleton in 2009 without a backup plan if not for Simmons injury, but now, that's not a problem.

Now we're seeing the same thing potentially happening at cornerback. When Bryant McFadden and Deshea Townsend both went down with injuries, the Steelers were forced to turn to second-year corner William Gay as an unexpected starter. Three games into his unexpected role, Gay has been very solid, showing that he's an extremely good tackler despite his small size and he has a decent feel for coverages. While it will be important to get McFadden back into the lineup, Gay has shown he can do the job respectably as an emerhgency fill-in.

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.

The Steelers managed to put the memory of the Eagles' debacle behind them with a win against the Ravens, but if you think the team's offensive line and blitz pick-up issues are behind them, you'd be mistaken.

Pittsburgh did handle Rex Ryan's innovative blitz packages better than it did the Eagles' come-from-anywhere blitz, but the Steelers still had trouble picking up blitzers, despite the fact that Baltimore rarely sent more than five pass rushers. The biggest difference between the first-half struggles and the second-half success was the emphasis on quicker passes and Ben Roethlisberger's ability to shrug off unblocked blitzers.

On Friday, ESPN.com blogger James Walker reported that Steelers rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall had sent a swagger-rific text to his friend Ray Rice, who also happens to be a rookie running back for the Ravens, Pittsburgh's opponent on Monday night.

That's all linebacker Bart Scott, attempted murderer, needed to get adequately motivated for the big game. Funny story: Mendenhall didn't actually send the text. From SteelCityInsider.com's Jim Wexell:

On Friday, James Walker ... reported that ... Mendenhall had texted ... Rice and that Mendenhall boasted he would have "a big day" in his first career start against a Ravens defense that hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 21 games, the NFL's longest current streak. ...

The maneuver surprised those who've dealt with the quiet and humble Mendenhall this year. So it was no surprise when Walker updated his story on Saturday that Mendenhall denied doing it.

"That was news to me," Mendenhall said. "Everybody that knows me knows that's not my style."

Steelers backup offensive lineman Darnell Stapleton, college teammate of Rice, said, "I talked to (Rice) the other day. He's talking his regular smack. He's confident in himself and confident in his team." Which prompted Wexell to write: "Of course, Stapleton didn't feel the need to type up Rice's comment and post it on the bulletin board."

I imagine the latest revelation won't change how Scott prepares for Monday night. Not so much because he needs "bulletin-board material" to get inspired, but because I don't think players put too much stock in pregame media reports. Which is probably advice we should all follow.