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.