Well OK - I put way too much importance on the center

As I watched the late first round unfold and Mack and Wood both come off the board - 21 was way too high for Mack, and then 28 for Wood - which is probably about right I was wondering what things were like in the Steeler war room. My guess is that the Parish trade was being tweaked and negotiated with the Bills - but since they could not pull it off, the Bills filled a need. I am sure that the Steelers would have had some condition in the Parish deal to "protect" Wood.

From the PG this morning it sounds like the Steelers move quickly to plan B. Hood was a great value with the 32 pick - should be a starter in two years or less - and will play a ton this year in the rotation. If you have watched the Steelers these last few years, it is a bit of an oversimplification to call them a 3-4 team. I have seen them in a lot of 2 down lineman sets - and in four and even five at times. It will take time for Hood to pick-up the two-gap system, but he would appear to have both the desire and the ability to do so.

The second round had to be crazy - Ed B was surely lobbying hard for Fili - and I would wager that the Steelers tried hard to trade into the middle of round two for a shot at him - he would have given them a new, younger corp of d lineman to built on - much like the Timmons-Woodely pair did for the linebackers. They no doubt considered Unger a viable option if he fell to them at 64 - but doubt they tried to trade up for him.

So now they have 3 of the next 32 picks - don't be surprised if after the overnight analysis they have a target and try and package two of their third rounders to move into the top half of the round - there last two in the round would be enough on the point chart to move to the top of the round - and the 2nd and third could move them up and bring back a late 4 or early 5.

Of course they could just take the three players that fall to them - there are a ton of future NFL starters - and a few future stars left on the board - trick is figuring out which ones they are :-)

Will be tuning in early - don't want to miss the fun.

Mack - Unger - Wood

So draft day is finally here and the Steelers find themselves in a great position - if drafting 32nd is ever great. The first part of the good news is that their first rounder will cost them less than any other!. The second is that they have no real "needs" for the coming year - so they can consider developmental prospects. Third, if they want an interior offensive lineman it is very likely that they will have three great options - each has showed up on a number of mock draft boards and all should be starters in the NFL for years to come.

There is however, a need for some caution. Kevin Colbert seemed to reflect this in his statement that he would like to go "three for three" in his top three choices. Twelve players have expiring contracts that will need to be addressed after this year and a good draft would make some of these twelve expendable.

In addition, others have noted the very real aging problem on the D-Line - none of the starters are under 30 and Hampton is one of the 12 expiring contracts.

So what sort of strategy would make sense? The first step could be to trade back a few picks from #32 (assuming that their is a willing buyer). The goal would be to acquire the currency that would make improving the current draft positions in rounds two and three possible. For example a trade back four spots should net them a late fourth or early fifth. The second step would be to use this pick and their current fourth to move up their current #2 and current #3 about 6 to 6 slots in round 2 and 8 to 10 in round 3. .

Depending on who is on the board their current 2nd and two fourths (current and acquired) could allow them to move up to the mid fifties from their current 64 slot.

In any case they will have options - no pressing need makes that possible.

Here are my three round picks for what they are worth...

Unger - taken at 36 or 37
Fili Maola - will have to trade up to get him - but he could be Hamptons backup
Dion Butler - a wide out to develop...

Pretty Impressive

So the Pens get an early goal - bit of a break and manage to keep the pressure on the Flyers - nice win and should provide some momentum - but still looks like 6 or 7 game series.

I have got some catching up to do...

Normally I spend a bit more time following the Penguins - but this year has been frustrating - watched a good bit early and was disappointed in how they played. When they changed coaches I actually got a bit angry - thought the players were more the problem than the coach.

But tonight all is forgiven - will be wearing the Crosby jersey and hoping for a miracle run.

Go Pens!

Time for some draft speculation

In some ways the Steelers can look at this year as playing with house money. They get Mendanhall back from his injury and a chance to see what Limas Sweed can really do. So the draft can address needs that will be emerging - not currently existing...

So the mocks that have them taking one of the top centers are probably spot on - a number of good choices - which might be an opportunity to trade back and still get one of the centers - Unger, Mack and Wood (Kiper is slotting in Wood) are all about equal - and if all three are on the board the Steelers could trade back.

Another option is to pass on the top three and pickup one of the two next highest rated centers - Caldwell from Alabama or Luigs from Arkansas. Both of them are sound and could be an option if the Stillers want to develop someone for next year - not looking for an immediate starter.

A lot might depend on what is on the board at 32 - if one of the top corners falls it might be logical to snap him up and get the center in round 2 or 3.

The one need that I think will occupy at least 3 pick will be the defensive line. The Steelers have the benefit of not looking for the prototypical prospect - although a BJ Raji would be a great fit.

Also watch Harvin - the grass issue is not a biggie - we have dealt with Santonio after all - but if he is on the board the temptation to try and fix the return game will be huge.