The pick is in ....

 

It's almost time to restock the shelf.

Times have changed in the NFL, a league that now has far more high-octane passing attacks than dominant running games. And while this may be true, you still need a solid running game to win a Super Bowl. No one knows that more than the Steelers, who saw their once promising 2020 campaign end with a loss to the Browns in the wild-card round. While the loss was a team effort, the Steelers' 32nd-ranked rushing attack was one of the main reasons why Pittsburgh's championship drought has reached a dozen years. 

With a limited salary cap, the Steelers will lean on the draft to bolster their running game in preparation for the 2021 season. Pittsburgh has several other holes it will look to fill, and with eight picks in the '21 draft, the Steelers have the ability to fix most -- if not all -- of their holes heading into training camp. Let's take a look at how the Steelers can pull off the perfect draft, starting with the position that is in most need of an upgrade as they give Ben Rosligberger one more shot to win it all in 2021. 

 While no team solely relies on one running back anymore, it's no secret that Mike Tomlin likes having a featured running back who can close out a game. Tomlin had the luxury of having  Le'Von Bell on his team during the 2010s, and the result was four consecutive playoff berths that included a trip to the AFC title game in 2016.

 

The Steelers are expected to find their next featured running back in either the first or the second round. With the 24th overall pick, Pittsburgh should be in position to draft either Alabama's Najee Harris, Clemson's Travis Etienne, or North Carolina's Javonte Williams. Harris and Williams are bruisers, while the versatile Etienne would be a more natural fit inside new offensive coordinator Matt Canada's offense. Depending on what the Dolphins and Jets (owners of the 18th and 23rd selections, respectively) do with their picks, the Steelers could possibly have their choice of all three backs when they are on the clock.

The Steelers will also have several good options if they choose to wait until the second round to take a running back. Oklahoma's Rhamondre Stevenson, North Carolina's Michael Carter and Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell are among the top running back prospects who may still be available when the Steelers are on the clock with the 55th pick. And if Pittsburgh wants until the third round, Ohio State's Trey Sermon and Jaret Patterson might be available with the 87th overall pick. But given how big of a need this is, don't expect the Steelers to wait too long to solidify their running back position.

As team president Art Rooney II recently stressed, the running back position is only part of the Steelers' plan to strengthen their game. The team also needs to add pieces to an offensive line that lost perennial Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey (retirement) and right tackle Matt Feiler (who signed a multi-year deal with the Chargers). The Steelers will have a new starting left tackle, as Alejandro Villaneuva is still on the open market. Pittsburgh did help strengthen their line during free agency by re-signing tackle Zach Banner and guard/center J.C. Hassenauer. The Steelers also signed former Buccaneers tackle Joe Haeg and guard/center B.J. Finney, who started his career in Pittsburgh before spending the 2020 season in Seattle and Cincinnati. 

While Hassenauer, Banner, guard Kevin Dotson and tackle Chukwuma Okorafor will likely move into the starting lineup, the Steelers desperately need depth at the guard and tackle positions. Luckily for the Steelers, there should be several high-rated tackles available for them in the first round. Those players may include Virginia Tech's Christian Darrisaw, Oklahoma State's Tevin Jenkins, Michigan's Jalen Mayfield, and Northwestern's Dillon Radunz. USC's Alijah Vera-Tucker is the top-rated guard in the draft, but he is expected to be off the board by the time Pittsburgh is on the clock. Alabama's Landon Dickerson would be the choice if the Steelers want to select a center with their first-round pick.

Possible second-round options on offensive line include Alabama guard Alex Leatherwood, Tennessee guard Trey Smith, Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey and Ohio State center Josh Myers. Third-round options include Cincinnati tackle James Hudson III, Alabama guard Deonte Brown, Texas tackle Samel Cosmi, Middle Tennessee State guard Robert Jones, Wisconsin-Whitewater center Quinn Meinerz, and Notre Dame guard Aaron Banks.

Expect the Steelers to use at least two of their first three picks on the offensive line. Pittsburgh will probably use at least one Day 3 pick to add more depth to its line. 

No position on Pittsburgh's roster was hit harder than this one during the offseason. Sack artist Bud Dupree penned a lucrative multiyear deal with the Titans. Following him to Tennessee was backup Ola Adenyi. The Steelers somewhat stopped the bleeding by re-signing Robert Spillane to a one-year deal. They have also reportedly brought back Vince Williams, who was released earlier this offseason. 

Pittsburgh needs some reinforcements at both inside and outside linebacker for the '21 season. While the thought is that the Steelers will first address their running game, don't be overly surprised if the Steelers grab a linebacker with one of their top two picks if the right one is available. The linebacker that would make the most sense in the first round is Georgia's Azeez Ojulari, who tallied three sacks, three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in the Bulldogs' Peach Bowl victory over Cincinnati. If the Steelers decide to wait, former University of Pittsburgh pass rusher Patrick Jones II could be an early Day 3 steal. 

The only inside linebacker that would make sense in the first round is Jamin Davis, who filled up the stat sheet during his final season at Kentucky. Day 2 options at inside linebacker include Alabama's Dylan Moses, Missouri's Nick Bolton, Ohio State's Baron Browning and LSU's Jabril Cox. The Steelers have shown considerable interest in Browning, a big hitter who has drawn comparisons to Jaguars linebacker Myle Jack. 

Whatever the Steelers do, it wll be an uphill battle to return to form in the Black and Blue division.

 

 

Greed Inc.

 

Greed, that's all this is, pure greed, and in the middle of a global pandemic, no less.

 

I don't usually write about soccer, not enoughs scoring to my taste, but when I learned about the establishment of a super league, and wresting of 100 year old franchises away from UEFA premier soccer leagues, I went ballistic.

Players at the 12 clubs setting up their own Super League could be banned from this year's European Championship and next year's World Cup, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said Monday.

Ceferin showed his sense of anger and betrayal by the leaders of some wealthy European clubs as he spoke of "snakes," and wished UEFA could ban Super League clubs and players "as soon as possible" from all of its competitions.

Whether UEFA's lawyers will advise that — with the Champions League and Europa League semifinals starting next week, and Euro 2020 kicking off in June — is unclear. 

 

Ceferin spoke following a UEFA executive committee meeting and said some "legal assessments" will begin Tuesday morning. The meeting was held only hours after the English, Italian and Spanish clubs announced the Super League project that threatens to split the historic structure of European soccer.

"They will not be able to represent their national teams at any matches," Ceferin earlier warned. "UEFA and the footballing world stand united against the disgraceful self-serving proposal we have seen in last 24 hours from a select few clubs in Europe that are fuelled purely by greed above all else."

UEFA's 55 member federations are gathering for an annual meeting on Tuesday, including 24 nations that are playing in Euro 2020.

Three of the 12 rebels — Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid — are scheduled to play in the Champions League semifinals next week. Two more, Manchester United and Arsenal, are in the Europa League semifinals.

The 12 clubs have told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that they have begun legal action aimed at fending off threats to block the competition.

The letter was sent by the group of English, Spanish and Italian clubs to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Ceferin, saying the Super League has already been underwritten by funding of 4 billion euros ($6 billion Cdn) from a financial institution.

Currently, teams have to qualify each year for the Champions League through their domestic leagues, but the Super League would lock in 15 places every season for the founding members. The seismic move to shake up the sport is partly engineered by the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, who also run franchises in closed U.S. leagues — a model they are trying to replicate in Europe. 

UEFA warned the Super League clubs, including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, that legal action would be taken against them and said they would be barred from existing domestic competitions like the Spanish league, the Premier League and international competitions.

"We are concerned that FIFA and UEFA may respond to this invitation letter by seeking to take punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions," the Super League clubs wrote to Infantino and Ceferin in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

"Your formal statement does, however, compel us to take protective steps to secure ourselves against such an adverse reaction, which would not only jeopardize the funding commitment under the grant but, significantly, would be unlawful. For this reason, SLCo (Super League Company) has filed a motion before the relevant courts in order to ensure the seamless establishment and operation of the vompetition in accordance with applicable laws."

The courts were not named.

The Super League intends to launch a 20-team competition with 15 founding members but only 12 have currently signed up. The others are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham from England, Atletico Madrid from Spain, and AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy.

The breakaway was launched just as UEFA thought it had agreement on an expansion of the Champions League from 2024. Now, the same officials who backed the plans have decided to go it alone while claiming the existing competitions could remain — despite losing their most successful teams, including record 13-time European champion Real Madrid and six-time winner Liverpool.

"The competition is to be played alongside existing domestic league and cup competitions, which are a key part of European football's competitive fabric," reads the Super League letter to Infantino and Ceferin. "We do not seek to replace the UEFA's Champions League or the Europa League but to compete with and exist alongside those tournaments."

Former United midfielder Ander Herrera is one of the few current players to speak out against the proposal. Herrera plays for Paris Saint-Germain, the French champion that is so far refusing to take part in the Super League alongside big clubs in Germany like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

 

"I believe in an improved Champions League," he told his 2.7 million followers on Twitter, "but not in the rich stealing what the people created, which is nothing other than the most beautiful sport on the planet."

Bayern coach Hansi Flick said he opposes the Super League.

"I think it would not be good for European soccer," Flick said Monday.

Dortmund said that it and Bayern both reject the Super League and are in favour of reforming the existing Champions League. Both are on the board of the European Club Association, which held an emergency meeting Sunday after representatives of the Super League clubs quit the organization.

"It was the clear opinion of the members of the ECA board that the plans for founding a Super League are rejected," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said in a statement.

"Both of the German clubs which are represented on the ECA board, FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, put forward 100 per cent identical views in all conversations."

The agreement was negotiated with the 246-member European Club Association. The ECA's leader, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, resigned from the UEFA executive committee overnight.

"He is probably biggest disappointment of all," Ceferin said of Agnelli, whose young daughter he became godfather to. "I have never seen a person that would lie so many times and so persistently as he did.

"Now I know who is who. Who is honest. Who loves football."

In their letter to the FIFA and UEFA presidents, the Super League clubs said their competition could also play alongside domestic leagues and cups.

"We do not seek to replace the UEFA's Champions League or the Europa League they said, "but to compete with and exist alongside those tournaments."

Bugger them all, I say. Greedy bastards, the whole stinking load of them.

 

Brown out on a ledge literally

Once again, Antonio Brown's status for Monday Night Football is in doubt.
Brown told ESPN's Jeff Darlington in an email Saturday that there is "no way" he plays for the Oakland Raiders.
The talented wide receiver said this is his stance after the team "took away my (contract) guarantees." He added: "no way I play after they took that and made my contract week to week."

The Raiders fined Brown $215,073.53 for conduct detrimental to the team, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday. This is just the beginning of a long season for the Vegas bound Raiders.

By fining Brown, the Raiders voided the $29.125 million worth of guaranteed money in his deal, sources told Schefter.
In addition, the Raiders sent Brown a letter that he no longer will be entitled to termination pay in the event that they release him, sources told Schefter.
As a result, Brown is playing on a week-to-week basis with both his guaranteed money voided and lack of termination pay.
A source told ESPN's Ed Werder on Friday night that Brown was fined an unspecified amount for a confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock and the wide receiver was "not happy" about the fine.
Brown took to Instagram on Saturday morning and said, in part, "I have worked my whole life to prove that the system is blind to see talent like mines.Now that everyone sees it, they want me to conform to that same system that has failed me all those years. 'I'm not mad at anyone. I'm just asking for the freedom to prove them all wrong.' Release me @Raiders."
The latest turn in this saga comes a day after coach Jon Gruden said the plan was for Brown to play in the team's Week 1 opener on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos .
Brown and the team became at odds after Brown received a letter from Mayock outlining a series of fines levied for missing time during training camp that totaled $54,000.
Sources told ESPN's Josina Anderson on Friday that Brown initiated the confrontation with Mayock on Wednesday and in the process unleashed a barrage of "cuss words" at the GM and called Mayock a "cracker." Brown spoke with ESPN's Dianna Russini later Friday and denied he used the word "cracker."
Sources told Anderson that Brown issued an "emotional apology" to the team Friday and he had the support of the Raiders' captains. Later Friday, Brown addressed the media and made a public apology.

On Friday night, Brown posted a video on YouTube of a private phone call he had with Gruden.
In the video, which lasted 1 minute, 57 seconds, Brown is heard taking a call from Gruden, who asks the receiver: "What the hell is going on, man?"
Brown answered: "Just a villain all over the news, man."
Gruden then called Brown "the most misunderstood" person he has met, before asking him: "Do you want to be a Raider or not?"
Brown answered: "Man, I've been trying to be a Raider since day one. I've been f---ing working my ass off harder than anyone. I don't know why it's a question of me being a Raider. It's like do you guys want me to be a Raider?"
Gruden then asked the receiver to stop the off-the-field stuff and "just play football."
"How hard is that?" Gruden could be heard saying. "You're a great football player. Just play football."
Brown then told his coach it's not that simple.

"I'm more than just a football player, man," he said. "I'm a real person. I'm a real person. It ain't about the football, I know I can do that. I show you guys that on the daily. This is my life. Ain't no more games."
It wasn't immediately clear when the call between Brown and Gruden took place. A Raiders source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Friday night that Gruden was truly amused by the video and even thought it was "awesome."
That sentiment has likely changed with the team now two days away from its Monday night opener and the status of its franchise wideout as uncertain as ever.
The latest twist in the soap opera has led Ceasars Sportsbook to adjust its line. Denver is now -1 after being -2 and the total has moved from 43 to 42.5.

Stay tuned, I am convinced we have not heard the last from Antonio Brown.

Well, it was not long, Raiders release Antonio Brown.

Wow. AB requested his release Saturday morning and was granted it before noon. It's unclear what type of market he'll have after back-to-back breakdowns with both the Steelers and Raiders, especially considering the lack of guaranteed money he'll likely draw on the open market. Brown's time with the Raiders might be over, but we haven't heard the last of this story.

First Week Fun Begins

What a day! We knew Thursday would bring us the official kickoff of the 2019 NFL season as the Bears played host to NFC North rival Green Bay, but before kickoff, there was a serious appetizer.

The never-ending off-field issues involving Raiders WR Antonio Brown took another turn yesterday and we probably should’ve seen it coming. On Wednesday, Brown took to social media, sharing a letter from Oakland GM Mike Mayock informing Brown he’d been fined for previous absences from practice. This is a clear policy and Brown has been in and out of camp all summer long. Brown added text overlaying the image of the letter, claiming his “own team want to hate,” along with the phrase “devil is a lie.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Brown and Mayock “got into it” on Wednesday and had to be separated. Because of this, the Raiders are reportedly planning to suspend their star receiver. Despite the widespread discussion that took over the football community, the Raiders decision-makers did not make an official announcement about the suspension, so the length of any possible absence is still unclear.

If the Helmet Fits

Schefter later added to the report, saying that some around the league expect the Raiders will attempt to void Brown’s $30.125 million guaranteed money, which would essentially end his time in Oakland and make him a free agent. When Brown was a no-show to Thursday’s practice, the team labeled the cause as “conduct,” which opens the door to suspending Brown for conduct detrimental to the team.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later added more details to the Brown saga, including the receiver threatening to punch Mayock, punting a ball and daring the team to fine him again. Rap Sheet also confirmed that we should not expect to see Brown in uniform against the Broncos this week. Beyond that is anyone’s guess.

Julio, too?

As if the Brown storyline wasn’t causing enough angst for fantasy players, Falcons star WR Julio Jones hinted on Thursday that he is unhappy with his contract and said he didn’t know if he would play in Week One against the Vikings. A longtime Falcons beat writer called the entire exchange bizarre and said Jones was “battling something physical or emotional.” Along with the contract concern, Jones seemed to allude to a possible injury he’s dealing with, though he hasn’t shown up on the injury reports. In the end, the Falcons blamed Jones’ Thursday practice absence on “rest,” though that is hard to believe following his earlier comments. Hopefully, this situation is cleared up before Sunday’s kickoff.

Backfield News

Redskins HC Jay Gruden confirmed RB Derrius Guice would be the team’s starting back and see the majority of the touches. Surprisingly, veteran RB Adrian Peterson is in danger is being pegged as a healthy scratch. … Baltimore OC Greg Roman admitted veteran RB Mark Ingram is the team’s starter but “everybody is going to contribute.” Roman also used the term “hot hand.” Other key members of the Ravens backfield include rookie Justice Hill and Gus Edwards. … If Baltimore becomes a running back by committee, they won’t be alone. Coaches from Buffalo, Philadelphia and the Chargers also suggested their teams would implement the RBBC, using multiple backs early this season.

Injury Updates

Rookie WR DK Metcalf (knee) was a full participant in practice. … 49ers WR Dante Pettis (groin) practiced fully and is good to go for Week One. … Bears TE Trey Burton (groin) was inactive for last night’s game as he continues to recover from hernia surgery. … Veteran Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery popped up on the injury report with an arm injury but was able to get in a limited practice. … Titans RT Jack Conklin (knee) returned to a full practice. … WR Keke Coutee (ankle) was limited at Texans’ practice. … Ravens rookie WR Marquise Brown (foot) is practicing in full…Browns WR Odell Beckham (hip) says he still hasn’t “opened up” while running. That is not good. … Vikings WR Stefon Diggs (hamstring) was limited for Thursday’s practice. While he is expected to play, Diggs has a long history of struggling when showing up on the final injury report. Look out for that prior to inserting him into your Week One lineups. … Redskins TE Jordan Reed (concussion) took part in practice but is still in the league protocol. … Jets HC Adam Gase said WR Robby Anderson is ready to go for Week One.

Quick Hits

Now that they have RB Ezekiel Elliott wrapped up for the long-term, the Cowboys have to make a plan to retain QB Dak Prescott and WR Amari Cooper. Owner Jerry Jones suggested that signing Prescott to a new deal remains a top priority for the team, while talks between Cooper and the team have reportedly been quiet. … The Rams signed TE Tyler Higbee to a four-year extension, paying him over $31 million.