1997 || 1998 || 1999 || 2000 || 2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008

(12/22) Just how bad are the 1999 Pittsburgh Steelers? For the first time ever, the Steelers will not send one single player to the Pro Bowl. When the all-pro selections were announced today, it came as no surprise that none of them were Steelers. This ends a nearly 50 year streak of having at least one all-pro player. Center Dermontti Dawson, who is usually a lock for the Pro Bowl, did not make it this year because he was injured for most of the season. Punter Josh Miller had the best chance of anyone, but he didn't make it either. Miller will most likely end up as the team MVP. That's great for him, but how sad is that when your punter is your best player?!

(12/14) Everyone is disgusted with the Steelers right now, including their owner. Dan Rooney called last week's game a "comedy of errors" and said his team was "unprofessional". He NEVER rips into his team like that. It just shows how miserable this season has become. I can't say I blame Mr. Rooney right now. At least dad's not here to see this debacle, Dan.... Injury news: Dermontti Dawson is officially done for the year after reaggrevating his hamstring in his first game back. Nolan Harrison, who was also coming off yet another long injury, is hurt again. Harrison missed almost the entire season with a torn left chest muscle. He finally came back on Sunday, and proceeded to tear his right chest muscle! I'm sick of this guy constantly getting injured. He is a free agent at the end of the year. Negotiations should go something like this:
Harrison's Agent: (trying to keep a straight face) "We want money."
Steelers: "For what?! You're client never plays! And when he does play he gets personal fouls called on him!"
Harrison's Agent: "Uhhhhhh.... I guess you're right. Sorry for wasting you're time gentlemen." ....

It's no secret that the Steelers will go sign a free agent QB in the off-season, but who? Well, one guy that's been rumored and should be in their price range is Bears QB Jim Miller!! Could you even imagine if we brought him back? We won't, just because it would make Donahoe and Cowher look like idiots for getting rid of him.... The Steelers will face an old foe on Saturday - CB Chris Dishman. Why do I bring that up? Well, I can't think of any player in the entire league who I've hated longer than this jerk. For years, Dish epitomized the always dirty Houston Oilers - a team that once picked a fight with our punter and once forced a usually reserved Chuck Noll to verbally threaten Oilers coach Jerry Glanville at midfield after a game. Dishman always seemed to be right in the middle of the Oilers-Steelers rivalry - whether he was cheap-shotting everyone from Louis Lipps to Charles Johnson, or starting a fight, or saying that Chad Brown was a no-talent bum (good call on that one, retard) - he has always been a hated player amongst Steelers fans. One Dish story that sticks out to me is the 1989 AFC Wild Card Game at Houston. Rod Woodson, who was ten times the cornerback Dishman ever was, forced Houston's running back to fumble in overtime. Woodson also recovered the fumble, which a few plays later would set up the game winning field goal that cost Glanville his job. Immediately after that fumble, the Oilers offense all started walking dejectedly off the field, but Dishman ran off the sidelines and began screaming at the referee. It was the most blatant fumble in NFL history, and he's out there like an idiot arguing about it! Of course being a jerk didn't do his team any good, and that kind of summarized his whole career. Ironically, the Steelers actually tried to sign Dishman when he was a free agent in 1997. Don't worry - I gradually recovered from the multiple heart attacks I had when I heard that the Steelers were even talking to his agent (thanks again to everyone who sent me get well cards). Dish eventually signed with Washington, and when the Redskins came to Three Rivers in the second week of that season, he promptly leveled Kordell Stewart after Stewart had already run out of bounds, showing exactly why the Steelers would have made a horrid mistake had they signed him. Now he's with the Chiefs, and he's still a huge jerk. Earlier this year he made some new enemies in Denver when he purposely poked an unsuspecting Ed Mcaffery in the eyes. Dish has been around a while, and since he no longer plays in our division, this may just be the last time the Steelers and him ever face off. If that is the case, then good riddance. I'm sure he'd try his best to take a few of our players with him into retirement.

(10/28) I hate the bye week. I always want to see the Steelers play, even if they do suck! Anyway, since there is no game this week and everyone is probably going to get sick of reading the recap of the Falcons game over and over again, I've decided to put up the Mid-Season Report a week early. After all, it's close enough to midseason. So far this year the Steelers have been up and down. The offense has struggled just like last year, but if there's any consolation it's that the defense has been playing almost as good as ever. It will remain to be seen if we can stumble into the playoffs, but right now it doesn't seem completely outside the realm of possibility. I guess you could expect that in a season where the two Super Bowl teams have a combined three wins and the best team in the NFL is St. Louis! So please read on and let me know if I forgot to cover anything.

(10/12) As you may have heard, the NFL has given Houston a football team again, which is great because those fans deserve it way more than the losers in Los Angeles. Starting in 2002, the NFL will realign into eight divisions with four teams in each division. That means the end of the AFC Central as we know it. The new division will almost definitely consist of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Baltimore (man, could you imagine if we were in that division now? We could go 6-10 and still win the division!). People think that this realignment plan will hurt the traditional rivalries, but not to worry. Although no one in the national media gave him credit, Dan Rooney is the person who came up with this plan. Under Rooney's plan, each team will play six divisional games (vs. each team twice as usual), four games against the conference, and four games against a division in the other conference, just like before. However, there are still two games left. These "wildcard games", as Rooney calls them, will allow teams to schedule annual games against a mutually agreed upon rival, with the site of the game alternating each year. That means that the Steelers can still play Jacksonville every year (since they will almost certainly be in a different division than us), and they could play another rival, probably Oakland, every season as well. I think that's a brilliant idea. That way you can still keep rivalries intact even if divisional rivals are split up, and you actually have some control over who you play, like in college football. Plus you're back to playing in a small division like we had for years before Jacksonville and Baltimore came into the league. Something had to be done. Ten games inside the division each year is just way too much.... This week's upcoming game will be played in Cincinnati. It was going to be moved to Pittsburgh because the Reds were going to be in the playoffs, but thanks in large part to the Pirates crappy relief pitching, the Mets beat the Reds out for the NL wild card, so the football game will take place at Cinergy Field as originally scheduled.... Bengals OT Jamain Stephens has been activated from his drug suspension and will play in Sunday's game against the Steelers. Feel free to insert your own joke here.... If you've watched any of the big games on FOX this year, have you noticed who their sideline reporter is? That's right - it's none other than former Steelers CB D.J. Johnson. I didn't even recognize him without his trademark puffy hairdo! Johnson was the Steelers starting cornerback from 1989-93, and was actually a pretty decent cover guy. Unfortunately, his legacy in Pittsburgh may always be the 1993 playoff game at Kansas City. In the first half of that game, Johnson got himself ejected for kicking Kansas City's tight end in the head. The Steelers secondary, playing without their starting right cornerback, could not stop legendary Chiefs QB Joe Montana, resulting in a painful 27-24 overtime loss. It would turn out to be D.J.'s final game as a Steeler.... Finally, I know this really has nothing to do with the Steelers, but I felt it necessary to comment on the controversy surrounding our cross-state neighbors in Philadelphia. As you undoubtedly heard, the Eagles fans were heavily criticized after they all cheered relentlessly when Cowboys druglord Michael Irvin nearly broke his neck on Sunday. I'm sick of the media and everyone else acting so self-righteous about this, as if the Eagles fans are so evil. Yes, their cheering was in poor taste, but no one seems to remember that Irvin is a low-life, a junkie, and a downright criminal. If we was not playing football he'd be in prison where he belongs. He is a dispicable human being who has taunted and strutted in front of the Eagles fans for years. How do you expect them to react when they were faced with the possibility that cocky Irvin could spend the rest of his life sucking up food through a straw from his wheelchair? I'm not necessarily saying it was right. I'm just saying that what goes around comes around.

(9/21) Beware Pittsburgh - Dwight Clark is angry! Clark, the former 49ers WR and current director of football operations for the Cleveland Browns, was upset by the fact that the Steelers supposedly ran up the score against Cleveland in the opener. Clark was insulted that the Steelers were "passing and blitzing when it's 36-0" and says he now has "true hatred for the Pittsburgh Steelers." C'mon Dwight, you played in this league. This ain't college ball, son - don't be such a crybaby. The Steelers blitzed you because you kept passing and they wanted the shutout. I think he's just doing this to try to give the Browns fans even more reason to hate us, and to get them excited about the second game, since they obviously don't have much to look forward to the rest of the season. Plus he's a jerk and he can't help making stupid statements.... Starting SS Lee Flowers will miss the next two games with an ankle sprain. That means they will probably have to put Travis Davis in Flowers' place and start rookie Scott Shields at FS. I'd rather see them start the old man, Chris Oldham, at strong safety. I love Oldham, but the only problem is that he too was injured last week, so he may not be able to play at all, much less start.... What's with that chug thing the Steelers defense keeps doing every time they get a sack? I guess they're trying to start a trend or something.... After Minnesota's shocking loss at home last week to Oakland, and after two games of very limited offense, the Vikings fans have already turned on offensive coordinator Ray Sherman. Minnesota had the highest scoring offense of all-time last year, but in comes Sherman and all of a sudden they've become the 1998 Steelers. Sorry Vikes fans, I tried to warn you. This guy just can't coach an offense. It's going to be a long season for you guys.... I'm really getting sick of the shotty football coverage on CBS. Last week they missed Blackwell's first long kickoff return because they were trying to get cute by using a back of the endzone camera angle. When Scott Mitchell was benched, they cut to a shot of him on the sideline at least 17 times, as if there were some drama involving the benching of sucky Mitchell. When they weren't cutting to shots of Mitchell, they cut to shots of Johnny Unitas standing on the sidelines, looking absolutely bored and probably wondering when exactly did the Colts start wearing purple uniforms. I'm surprised he wasn't plugging one of CBS's crappy TV shows, because they do that for half the game as well. It'll be so nice to be at the game this week so I don't have to suffer through another CBS telecast.

(9/5) The Steelers were too indecisive about who to keep as their third-string QB, so now they are keeping all four guys. Pete Gonzales and rookie Anthony Wright had been battling it out for the number three spot all pre-season. I think the Steelers, who are so in love with this kid Wright, wanted Gonzales to maybe slip up a little so they would have an excuse for replacing him, much like what happened to Mike Quinn last year and Jim Miller the year before that. However, Gonzales has played well. Wright really has not, but the Steelers are so intent on keeping him that now we have four QB's. It is extremely unlikely that either Gonzales or Wright will throw one pass this entire season. Now a roster spot is gone for no reason. The Steelers did this once before in 1995, but then they used their number four QB, Kordell Stewart, as a receiver. If anything, this signals the end for Mike Tomczack. This will probably be Mike's last season. The Steelers kind of tried to force him out this year, but with Stewart's play in question, they knew they needed a veteran backup. If Stewart gets back on track this year, look for the Steelers to kindly force Tomczack into retirement....No one real notable was cut on the final day for making the roster. WR Alex Van Dyke, who we traded for back in March, was cut. So was WR David Dunn, who looked decent last year but couldn't cut it this summer (Dunn was actually cut last week).

(8/23)The Steelers have apparently violated the salary cap, and the NFL will now decide what action should be taken against them. The penalty could include a $2 million fine and/or the loss of draft picks! The violation in question involves the contract of retired OL Will Wolford. Apparently the Steelers gave him more money than they were allowed because when Wolford switched from guard to tackle last season, a clause in his contract gave him a bonus for doing so (tackle is a more physically demanding position). Two things should be noted here. First, this was an accident. The Steelers didn't try to pull any tricks like the Cowboys and 49ers always do. Secondly, the Steelers, being a class organization, turned themselves into the league. Again unlike the 49ers, who finally got caught and are currently under investigation by the NFL for cap violations. Hopefully the NFL won't go too hard on the Steelers.

(8/1) Friday marked the fitting end to the pitiful career of OT Jamain Stephens as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Stephens, as you may recall, was the Steelers first round draft choice in 1996. The Steelers gave him a million dollar contract, but he never did anything. Last year he actually started some games. Everyone else was hurt, so it was purely out of necessity. Still, some thought that maybe he showed some glimpse of promise - that maybe he could live up to the expectations of a first round pick. The Steelers thought about releasing him and his $800,000 salary in June, but hey, they thought, let's bring him to camp and give him a shot at that opening right tackle position. That all came to an end on just the first day of practice at training camp. Stephens showed up horribly overweight and out of shape. All 80 players in camp had to run sprints today, and 79 of those players did so successfully. Guess who passed out and couldn't finish? Bill Cowher was openly disappointed with Stephens, saying Jamain "lacks committment". Later in the day the Steelers made the decision to release Stephens, something they probably should have done long ago. They gave him every chance in the world, mostly because they had invested so much in him as a number one pick. He continually let them down. All he had to do was come to camp somewhat in shape. He most likely wasn't going to beat out any of the other linemen for spots, but to get cut on the first full day of practice - how sad is that? I honestly can't remember this ever happening. Don't feel bad for Stephens, because he got exactly what he deserved. Maybe he can still salvage a football career somewhere, but he certainly blew it here. Good riddance.
Also: An absolutely terrifying moment in camp this weekend: Dermontti Dawson, quite arguably the greatest center in pro football history, went down with a knee injury during a drill. He was carted off the practice field, and it looked like shades of Rod Woodson in 1995, but fortunately, it appears that the injury is not too serious. It is being called a "sprained MCL" and will probably cause Dawson to miss a few weeks rather than the entire season. That means he could easily be back before the opener in Cleveland, which is a huge relief. Dawson has not missed a game since 1988! If he were to miss any games, old man Jim Sweeney would start in his place. It's an impossible job being the Steelers center - that's why there has only been three men who have had that position since 1964.....Jerome Bettis continues to suffer from another knee injury. This one happened a few weeks ago while he was working out. He is starting to practice more however.....Darren Perry, who left the Steelers this off-season for the Chargers, has abruptly retired. He is only 30 years old, but has been bothered recently by a bad neck and shoulder. Perry was drafted in the eighth round by the Steelers in 1992, but immediately became a starter after the departure of Thomas Everett that off-season, leading the team in interceptions. He only missed two games in his entire career (both last year) and had 32 career interceptions. Darren Perry spent all seven of his NFL seasons as the starting free safety here in Pittsburgh.

(4/30) The Steelers have reportedly reached a deal that will extend Kordell Stewart's contract for five more years. Terms will be announced later, but it is expected to include a big signing bonus. That bonus will probably cover a smaller salary next year to save money under the cap. Kordell was scheduled to make $2 million but now will probably have his base salary reduced to under $1 million, with bigger base salaries coming in the final few years of this new contract. Why did the Steelers do this after Stewart had such a miserable season you may ask? Well, first of all, this contract will now be back-loaded, so if he still sucks next year then they can dump him without having to pay the bigger money in the later years of the deal. Secondly, they are giving up big money for the signing bonus, but it will actually save them money under the cap, because signing bonuses don't count towards the cap. Third and most importantly, what if he comes back and becomes a great quarterback? Then you have to worry about shelling out really big money to keep him or losing him the same way we've lost other great players. It's a good move on the Steelers part, because it's low-risk. They're taking advantage of Kordell while he's down, and Kordell won't pass up that big signing bonus because he knows that if he still sucks next season he'll never see that kind of cash again.

(4/23) The Steelers are starting to rebuild their depleted offensive line. They signed OT Anthony Brown, who spent the last four seasons as a backup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Brown wants a chance to start and he'll get it here. He also signed a two-year deal for the league minimum in salary. That means the Steelers are obviuosly trying to save money, and that spells doom for overpaid OT Jamian Stephens. Stephens was our #1 draft pick in 1996, but has never been able to become the solid starter the Steelers had hoped for. He was always overweight, had a bad attitude, and he was the only guy in recent memory to collapse during simple sprints at training camp (right). To his credit, he did come back from the dead last season to fill in somewhat nicely for Jugs, but it wasn't good enough. Now with Brown, Chris Conrad, and rookie Kris Farris all battling it out for the starting spot at right tackle, there's just no more room for Stephens and his $1 million a year salary. He'll be cut officially after June 1. So long, Jamain - you won't be missed.
Also: The Steelers released their long-snapper from last season, Mark Rodenhauser. He's a guy that some people credited for Josh Miller's big turn around....All the rookies will be in Pittsburgh this weekend for minicamp. First round pick Troy Edwards, who apparently likes to kind of shoot off his mouth, says that Kordell Stewart's poor performance last year is due to the fact that he didn't have anyone good to throw to and now he does. We'll see if Troy can back that up next season....Now that the Steelers have all these tackles, what do they do with Justin Strzelczyk? There's been some hopefully B.S. rumors going around that he'll be cut! C'mon - the guy has been on our team for longer than anybody except Dawson, and you're gonna just dump him because he's hurt? Even if they did cut him, they'd have to reach an injury settlement with him first. Yeah, Jugs makes $1.5 million a year, but we need to wait until we see if he can still play or not before we make any rash decisions....Oh, and since I missed it the other day, here's giving a big hahahahahaha to Neil O'Donnell, who was cut by the Bengals. Next year will make it 4 teams in 5 years for Neil. Why did you ever leave Pittsburgh, you stupid little piece of Super-Bowl-choking trash?

(4/20) You would’ve thought the Steelers had learned their lesson. Last November, we dropped a crucial game at Tennessee, a game that I think effectively put us out of the playoff hunt. The primary reason for this loss was so ridiculous. It was because we didn’t have a kicker. The Steelers were forced to go for it on 4th downs. The Oilers stopped them several times, and eventually won the game on a last second field goal. So now what do the Steelers turn around and do just five months later? They refuse to give Norm Johnson any money. In his four years with the Steelers, Johnson was the lowest paid veteran NFL kicker, despite consistently finishing in the top ten in accuracy. All Johnson wanted was around $450,000 a year, but the Steelers wouldn’t give him squat. They instead offered him a meager, near league-minimum salary. When he wouldn’t take it, they drafted a kicker and told him goodbye. What a slap in the face for Norm! He’s been a consistent kicker who’s come in here and won us games. Even after he was cut two years ago, he still didn’t let his ego get in the way of coming back to the team when they desperately needed him. The Steelers are too stubborn sometimes. They’ve never paid any money for a kicker, and by God, they’re not gonna start now. If Gary Anderson, our greatest kicker ever, wasn’t worth any cash, then certainly Norm Johnson isn’t either. Now we’re stuck with a rookie, just like last year in Tennessee. The Steelers think they can just dump players and replace them with rookies who’ll be just as effective. Remember when we cut Erric Pegram in 1997? His replacement, George Jones, couldn’t hang on to the football. Jones’ replacement the following year, Richard Huntley, was even worse! Next year it’ll be attempt number three to find a guy that is as effective and as useful to the offense as Pegram was. They’re still paying to this day for that stupid mistake, and they’ll probably be paying two years from now for this one. Good luck to you Norm - you deserve better than this team.

(4/6) There's good news and bad news to report from Steelers country today. First the good news: the Steelers have finally come to terms with OT Wayne Gandy. He has signed a four-year contract worth $14 million. The Steelers desperately needed a left tackle, and they had been pursuing Gandy for quite some time. Gandy started 64 consecutive games for the St. Louis Rams and is a great blocker. So now that the Steelers have Gandy, they've finally solidified that crumbling offensive line, right? That's where the bad news comes in. The Steelers announced today that OT Justin Strzelczyk has re-injured his knee, and may be done for good. Strzelczyk injured his knee last October in Kansas City and missed the rest of the 1998 season. Now he has re-injured it and has already had surgery. That means he is out indefinitely, but some people are speculating that his career may be over. This is a huge loss once again for the Steelers. Strzelczyk has played in Pittsburgh for nine seasons and is a veteran leader. The Steelers already knew about the injury, which is most likely why they stepped up their attempts to sign Gandy. This puts us right back to where we were before Gandy - with only one solid tackle. Assuming the Steelers use their first round pick on a WR, it'll be up to Jamain Stephens, Chris Conrad, and possibly a rookie (second or third round pick) to try to fill the whole on the other side of the line.
Also: Speaking of the draft, the Steelers are in the process of working out receivers. Ohio State WR David Boston is the latest. They have also worked out Fiesta Bowl hero Peerless Price of Tennessee....The Steelers have made some roster moves to accomodate their recent free agent signings. WR Jahine Arnold has been traded to the Green Bay Packers for past considerations (that's right - past considerations, not future). This guy never did anything besides get hurt. They also released S Bo Orlando. This former Oilers/Bengals reject rarely played, and when he did, he got bowled over twice by Jacksonville's Fred Taylor. Expect Will Wolford to be released tommorow. He's all but officially announced his retirement.

(4/3) Here's something new: the Steelers have actually stolen a free agent player from Jacksonville rather than them stealing one from us. The Steelers signed safety Travis Davis to a three year deal. He will replace Darren Perry at free safety. Davis used to start for the Jaguars, but got demoted last season. He still played in every game. The Steelers were looking at Davis and Jaguars starting safety Chris Hudson, but they believe Davis better fits their needs because of his size (6 feet, 208 lbs). He is much faster than Perry was, but then again, who isn't? This signing should solidify the secondary. Washington and Scott will play CB, with Townsend being the backup to both. Flowers will play strong safety, Davis will play free safety, and Oldham will continue to be the nickle back.

(4/1) The NFL schedule for 1999 is out, and it kicks off with quite a bang. The first week of the season features the Steelers at Cleveland in a Sunday night game. What a way to open for both teams! Those fans at that new stadium are gonna be totally insane for that game. The agreement, in theory, is that Cleveland will play here in week 1 of the 2001 season to help us open our new stadium. The 1999 season starts late next year (Sept. 12), but it'll be worth the wait to play the Browns again. The home opener isn't until Sept. 26, when the Seahawks comes to Three Rivers for the second straight year. Other big games include the Jags at home in week 4, a Monday nighter at home against the Falcons in week 7, Cleveland coming here in week 10, and a Thursday night game at Jacksonville in week 13. We have to go to Kansas City for like the 200th year in a row, but at least it's not a Monday night game for once. It's a Saturday game near the end of the season. The NFL also gave us a break by actually putting our bye week near the middle of the season (week 8) rather than the beginning like it has been the last three years. Click here to see the complete 1999 Steelers schedule.

(3/25) The Steelers, deperately short on WR's, have made a trade with the New York Jets to acquire receiver Alex Van Dyke. The Steelers get Van Dyke's services in exchange for their sixth-round in next month's draft. Van Dyke was a high draft pick for the Jets three years ago (#31 overall pick in the 1996 draft), but he never produced much because the Jets are already stacked with good WR's like Wayne Chrebet and Keyshawn Johnson. Van Dyke only had five catches last year, but he'll get much more playing time in Pittsburgh. This move at least increases the Steelers depth at WR, but it still does not give them the big-play guy they need. I still think they need to draft a WR in the first round.
Also: So now that the Steelers have traded for a WR, does that mean that they will draft a tackle? The left tackle position still needs to be filled by someone other than Jamain Stephens and Chris Conrad. One rumor that's circulating is that Bill Cowher may be able to coax Will Wolford out of retirement. Wolford never did make his retirement official, and he's still under contract. Cowher has reportedly told Wolford that if he chooses to come back he would only have to play on passing downs and that he could miss part of training camp. That's not a bad offer, especially since Wolford stands to make $2 million if he plays next season....The talk about Wolford has surfaced because the Steelers are still having trouble signing OT Wayne Gandy. We made him an offer that was somewhere in the neighborhood $13.2 million over four years, but that's not good enough for Gandy's greedy agent. He says Gandy deserves $17 million, because that's what the stupid Chicago Bears paid free agent tackle Blake Brockermeyer. Ok, maybe Gandy is as good as or better than Brockermeyer, but sometimes stupid teams just go overboard with money. It doesn't mean someone else will do it too. Not to mention the fact that no other teams have made Gandy an offer, or are even interested in signing him! This is a golden opportunity for Gandy, but he's gonna miss out on it because his agent is a moron. I'll say it now - I guarantee that if he doesn't sign here he will end up signing somewhere else for far less than we were offering. I've seen it happen so many times before, and it'll happen to him too....The money hungry city council of Pittsburgh has aprooved a plan to sell memorabilia from Three Rivers Stadium when it is torn down two years from now. Seats will be sold for $100 a piece. That's nice. My family has had season tickets in that stadium since the first day it opened, and what do we get for all those years of sitting in those seats? Nothing, unless you shell out more money, just like the money you had to shell out for a PSL in the new stadium. Well, the city council can go do what they want, but I'd like to know who's gonna stop me from bringing some tools to the final game and taking my seat home with me?

(3/14) Long-time Steeler FS Darren Perry has signed a two year, $3.2 million with the San Diego Chargers. Perry has been starting in the Steelers secondary since he replaced Thomas Everett as a rookie back in 1992. In seven seasons with the Steelers, he missed only two games (both coming last season). Perry was always a good, dependable player. He made big plays at times, but he lacked speed and was prone to getting burnt as well. He was a fixture in the secondary for quite some time, but he was certainly expendable. So now the question is what are the Steelers going to do with the secondary? There has been some rumors that they will draft a cornerback and move Chad Scott to free safety. This would be a really stupid panic move. Yes, Scott hasn't played for two years and may lose a step at CB, but he'd still be better as the other starter than some rookie. As for free safety, why hasn't anyone mentioned Chris Oldham? Here's a nine-year veteran who's been on our team for four seasons and in that time has made numerous big plays. He started the games that Perry missed last season, and I think he'd be a great replacement. If that's not an option, how about drafting a safety, not a cornerback. Let's not panic and draft a CB when we have Washington, Scott, and Townsend. We haven't had this much depth at CB since 1994, and we don't need to screw that up just because we lost our centerfielder in the secondary. FS is not that tough of a position to play. Perry was just about the slowest guy on our team and he played it just fine.

(3/12) The Steelers have re-signed restricted free agent FB Jon Witman. That basically means that unrestricted free agent FB Tim Lester will not be offered a contract. Let me go on the record as saying that this is a stupid mistake by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jon Witman has done absolutely nothing in three years here. Timmy Lester is one of the best blocking fullbacks in the NFL. Why would they choose Witman? They paid Witman $3.2 million over three years, so it wasn't about money, because Lester would have cost the exact same amount. The Steelers, who were so concerned about the running game that they surprisingly re-signed Mark Bruener, have now done an about-face by choosing Witman, because he can possibly be used more as a receiver out of the backfield than Lester. Nevermind the fact that he can't block worth crap, and that he's never proven himself to be a pass catcher. I don't like this. I know Jerome Bettis doesn't like this. Lester is his best freind, and he openly said he'd be "disgruntled" if the Steelers didn't make an effort to re-sign him. While it was pretty dumb for Bettis to make that comment (he should know better), it was still a mistake on the Steelers part, and I think they'll pay for it on the field next season.
Other Stuff: DT Oliver Gibson has signed a three-year, $3.6 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Gibson was a decent player, but he was a backup here and will start on the Bengals. He really isn't worth $3.6 million, but that's the Bengals for you. What a bunch of hacks! Maybe if they steal a few more of our players, they might actually win four games next year!....The Steelers are talking to TE Pete Mitchell, a free agent from Jacksonville. I don't know what Tom Donahoe is smoking these days, but it must be some powerful stuff, because I could've sworn we already had a TE. A team that never uses its tight ends in the first place suddenly needs two of them? C'mon guys - let's focus here. We need a tackle and a wide receiver. When we fill those gaps, then you can start throwing money away....The Steelers are still talking to OT Wayne Gandy, formerly of the St. Louis Rams. If he signs, that would really fill a huge gap on the line. The Steelers could then draft a WR with their 13th overall pick, and they'd be pretty much set for next season, assuming they can get a kicker....Speaking of kickers, Norm Johnson has not received any offers yet. The Patriots talked to him, but then re-signed their kicker from last year. Maybe it's about time we make him an offer.

(2/18) After years and years of competing against the Steelers, QB Warren Moon could be playing for them. Rumor has it that old man Moon wants to be a Steeler and the Steelers would like him to be the backup QB, and then maybe the starter if Kordell Stewart starts to suck again next season. However, don't read a lot into this rumor. There are two really good reasons why Moon won't be playing for the Steelers in 1999. First, he costs too much money. The Steelers need what little money they have to try to re-sign Norm Johnson and Tim Lester. Second, Moon isn't going to play for a team unless he really believes he will be the starter. It's possible that Kordell could suck just like last year, but it would take at least five or six games into the season for Cowher to bench him, and that's only if he plays really bad. Not to even mention the fact that Moon is like 92 years old and would only be around for one or two seasons. It won't happen, but the fact that the Steelers are even talking to him is pissing me off. They are also talking to Jeff Hostetler, who's even more old and broken down than he was when we tried to sign him two years ago! Why are the Steelers suddenly trying so hard to replace Mike Tomczack? Five months ago Tomczack was a Steeler for life. He was pretty much guaranteed to be here the rest of his playing career, and after that he'd probably be one of those guys we'd turn into a coach or something. But then he goes and makes one negative comment about Kordell Stewart and now it seems like he's as good as gone! What the hell is the Steelers problem? Ok, maybe it wasn't Tomczack's place to criticize Kordell's work ethic, but can you blame him? He backed up a guy that basically took our team out of the playoffs, and Cowher was so reluctant to pull him out of any games. And since when does making a comment get you kicked off this team!? The Cincinnati Bengals cut the punter who'd been playing for them for ten years because he made one negative comment about management. It's hard to believe the Steelers would stoop to the level of the Bengals, but that's apparently what's going on. If the Steelers cut Mike Tomczack, a guy that plays for a mere $600,000 a year (which is close to the league minimum) and is a proven veteran that's helped our team in a supporting and starting role for six years, then they will have made a horrible and pitiful mistake.

(2/16) Just a few days after losing Carnell Lake, the Steelers re-signed his replacement at safety from last year. Lee Flowers was awarded a 4 year, $10 million contract. Now that Lake is gone the Steelers are expecting Flowers to be their strong safety of the future. Last season was Flowers' first full year as a starter. He started off a bit slow but really came around by season's end. He costs about half of what Lake wanted, and he's much younger (1999 will be his fifth season in the league). When Lake left, it became imperitave that the Steelers re-sign Flowers, but he was in Philadelphia yesterday with CJ to talk to the Eagles. I started to wonder whether Flowers, who bashed Neil O'Donnell for leaving the team and says he longs for the days when players stayed with their teams, was about to become the biggest hypocrite ever, but if there's one thing you can say about Lee Flowers, it's that the man sticks to his word. He said he loved Pittsburgh and wanted to stay, and he followed through on it.

(2/16) WR Charles Johnson has signed with the NFL's saddest team, the Philadelphia Eagles. CJ has been a fan favorite since he was our #1 pick back in 1994, but he never really developed into the star WR that we were looking for. His only real good year was 1996, when injuries to starters Yancey Thigpen and Ernie Mills gave Johnson a chance to start every game. Those injuries, combined with the fact that Mike Tomczack was the QB, allowed CJ to have a 1,000 yard season (Tomczack always throws to CJ - he's gonna be lost out there without him!). Last season, CJ had the chance to step out of Thigpen's shadow and become the Steelers big play WR, but he failed (although to his defense Kordell and the whole offense sucked). He's a decent WR, but he's certainly replacable. The Eagles are paying him $3 million a year, and he's just not worth that much cash. This should wipe away any doubt as to what the Steelers will draft with their #13 overall draft pick next month.

(2/13) For the third straight year, the Steelers have lost an all-time great player, and this one really hurts. Carnell Lake has signed a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars that will pay him $18 million over four years, including a $5 million signing bonus. Tom Coughlin is such a hack. It's bad enough that we lose Lake, but now we have to play against him in the two biggest games of the year! It sucks, but you really can't fault the Steelers or Lake. The Steelers simply can't afford to pay Lake that kind of money, especially when they have a good young player, Lee Flowers, waiting in the wings (although he is a free agent too). They could have franchised Lake, but they would have had to pay him $5 million a year, which they believed was too much. This deal makes Lake the highest paid safety in NFL history, and I can't say he doesn't deserve it. In his ten seasons with the Steelers, Carnell Lake has done nothing but make big plays and contribute to the team's success. In three of the last four seasons, he sacrificed by moving from his original position of safety to cornerback because the Steelers were desperate for CB's. In 1995 when the Steelers were 3-4 because Rod Woodson had gone down and Alvoid Mays was starting at corner, Lake took over the position and quite possibly saved a Super Bowl season. There are so many big plays that Lake made over his career that I can't even begin to recount them. One play that sums up his ten years with the Steelers is the one he made against the Jaguars at Three Rivers in 1996. Coughlin even mentioned this play when they stole - I mean signed Lake, because it still haunted him. The Jags had beaten us in the first game and were fighting for a playoff spot. They were down 14-3 but driving deep into Steelers territory when Lake single-handidly ended the game. He blitzed Brunell, knocked the ball loose, picked it up, and ran 90 yards for a touchdown. That was the kind of play Carnell Lake could, and probably still can make. Like Rod Woodson and Greg Lloyd before him, he will be missed.

Also: LB Donta Jones has signed with the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers actually paid him $6.4 million over four years! That's a lot of money for a guy that didn't even start on our team. Jones was a starter at the end of the 1997 season but lost his job to Carlos Emmons this previous season. No way the Steelers were going to pay that kind of money for an unproven backup ....Punter Josh Miller, who was a restricted free agent, was awarded a new three-year contract. Miller was once the joke of the team, but now all of a sudden he's wanted. He had a great 98 season (one of the few Steelers that can say that) and was actually a pro bowl alternate.

(2/10) Free agency starts on Friday and so far the Steelers are off to a good start. TE Mark Bruener has re-signed for a reported $10 million over 4 years. That's big money for Bruener, but he is a quality tight end, and quality tight ends are hard to come by in the NFL. I thought Bruener would be long gone, since the Steelers never use him as a receiver. Bruener has proven that he can be effective as a pass catcher, but the Steelers never seem to work him into the offense the way they did with Eric Green. However, with this big contract and new offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride coming in, look for Bruener to be a big part of the offense next season. Also, the Browns took DE Rod Manuel from the Steelers in the expansion draft. If you've never heard of Manuel, that's probably because he only played in two games last season. No big loss there.

(2/3) Just one day after Art Rooney II threatened to move the Steelers out of Three Rivers Stadium, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed what they called a compromise plan to fund new stadiums for the Steelers, Pirates, Eagles, and Phillies. The plan is kind of like a loan for the teams, where they'll pay back money if they don't generate a certain amount of revenue. I really don't understand a lot of the specifics, and I don't care. The Steelers and Pirates get much-needed stadiums, and this city gets some much-needed rennovation, all without severely raising our taxes. So now everyone can quit worrying about the Steelers leaving and focus on what's important - the game itself. Now if only we could raise some money to save our bankrupt hockey team!

(1/30) The 1999 Hall of Fame inductees were announced today and of course, the list did not include any of the three Steelers who were finalists. Lynn Swann came the closest, finishing in the top six. That means he automatically becomes a finalist next year. Big deal, they'll just screw him over again. Dan Rooney finished in the top six last year but not this year. How do you explain that? People who voted for him last year took their votes away? Why? John Stallworth, the Steelers all-time leading receiver, was also overlooked for the Hall. This just once again prooves that pro football media types know very little about pro football. Maybe one day this horrible wrong will be corrected, but it won't happen in this millenium.

(1/18) Hey, that was a pretty good weekend of football. That's the first time in 17 years that I've seen Gary Anderson miss a clutch field goal! Anyway, while the Broncos and Falcons are off to Miami for Super Bowl XXXIII, the other 28 teams, including the Steelers, are preparing for next season. The Steelers are obviously looking to rebound from their pitiful 1998 season, but once again will have to deal with a list of free agents. Among this year's crop is long-time Steeler Carnell Lake, who is currently the franchise player. Do the Steelers franchise him again? Which free agents do they keep and which do they let go? Who else besides free agents could be gone by the time next season begins? Who should the Steelers draft? What teams are on the Steelers schedule next year? These issues and more are all covered in the 1999 Steelers Preview, so please check it out.

(1/12) Tackle Will Wolford has decided to retire after 13 successful seasons in the NFL. Wolford spent seven seasons with the Bills and then went to Indianapolis for three years. The Steelers signed him in 1996 and he did a great job. He played guard instead of tackle in his later years, but when the Steelers lost John Jackson to free agency this year, Wolford sacrificed for the good of the team and moved back to tackle, which is more physically demanding than guard. In the process, Wolford got beat up, tearing a chest muscle. Despite the injury, he only missed two starts. Wolford was a great lineman who always gave his best effort. He was an all-pro three times, and was widely considered as one of the best tackles in the league. Even in his final three seasons here with the Steelers, he never seemed to lose a step. He will be missed, and now the Steelers have to start thinking about replacing him.
Also: The Steelers made a smart move with the Wolford situation. They did not make an official announcement that he has retired. That means they can include his name on the list of five players that they have to make available in the expansion draft. Screw you, Cleveland!! Other people on the list are the following scab players: WR Jahine Arnold, TE Harold Bishop, DE Rod Manuel, and DB Jason Simmons.

(1/8) The Steelers have found a new offensive coordinator. Kevin Gilbride was named as Ray Sherman's replacement. Gilbride was fired last season as San Diego's head coach. He didn't have a lot of success as a head coach, but he certainly had great success in the AFC Central as the offensive coordinator of the Oilers and then the Jaguars. His offenses were consistently ranked among the top five in the NFL. For Kordell Stewart, this is it. Gilbride will not be the scapegoat next season if the offense fails again. He is a proven coach, and will be given more room to develop the offense than previous coaches. If Stewart still sucks next year, it will be him who will be out of Pittsburgh, not the coaches.
Also: Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett is still interviewing for head coaching jobs in Chicago and Baltimore, but it's looking like he's not as hot of a coaching prospect as once thought. Two of the teams that were supposedly interested in him, Seattle and Philadelphia, have now gone with someone else. If Haslett does get an offer, expect Dom Capers to return to Pittsburgh.

(1/1) Offensive coordinator Ray Sherman has resigned, which is just a nice way to say that he was fired. This comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone. The offense was pitiful this season, scoring just 21 touchdowns. The only team with fewer TD's was Philadelphia. While it's not all Sherman's fault, the blame starts with the coach. He took an explosive, run-based offense and tried to turn them into the "rink-and-dink", west coast offense that throws five yard passes and never runs the ball. I personally think Sherman's biggest mistake was abandoning the running game in close games, especially when Stewart and the receivers were playing so poorly. So now the search begins for a new offensive coordinator. Candidates include former Steelers TE and current Steelers TE coach Mike Mularky, former Colts offensive coordinator and head coach Lindy Infante, who the Steelers actaully talked to last year for this position, former Chargers head coach and Oilers/Jaguars offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and former Pitt QB and Bears offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh, even though he's a west coast offense guy too.

Click here for 1998 News Archives