Last week Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette wrote that Jason Worilds turned down a long term contract offer from the Steelers. In his morning blog, Bouchette wrote, “Turns out, the Steelers made Jason Worilds a multi-year contract offer awhile ago, sources say. His side did not accept it. I have no idea what that offer was, but I am told that offer stands and they will go no higher, that he either takes it or plays this season for the $9.7 million one-year deal he signed as their transition player.”
The post received lots of attention from national media, and many a story was churned out about it. I’m going to refrain from going off on a tangent about how the sports writing ecosystem works, at least how it pertains to the Steelers. I’ll just say that a lot of it is more about clicks than facts.
Back to Worilds and his offer…or lack there of. Today Trib reporter Mark Kaboly writes that Worilds had no such offer from the Steelers. Here’s what Kaboly wrote about the matter.
“I was told that Worilds was not offered a contract by the Steelers and that there have been no talks between the two sides since Worilds agreed to the transition tag three months ago. It was recently reported that Worilds rejected a contract offer by the Steelers, which remains on the table.
“An absolute lie,” the person said.
It is not unusual for there to be two different stories during contract negotiations. In fact, it’s the norm, so take it for what is worth. Worilds would not comment on his contract situation when I asked, and that’s about status quo for him. Worilds is a very quiet and guarded individual that would never talk about something as sensitive as his contract situation.”
Perhaps both reporters are indeed talking to team sources with knowledge of the subject. There is no indication from either writer who their source was, or if it was even a source who is affiliated with the team, or with player representation- and that’s completely fine. It’s par for the course.
Worilds and his camp hold all the cards in contract negotiations, and have since he accepted the transition tag. Who knows what’s really going on behind closed doors in terms of negotiations, but the transition tag certainly poses an obstacle for the Steelers while trying to work out a long term extension. It may very likely be that the team will let Worilds play out this season as a “prove your worth” year, and wait until 2015 to either transition/franchise him, or negotiate a long term deal.
The Steelers last remaining unsigned rookie has signed his contract this morning. Second round pick DE Stephon Tuitt is now under contract. I figured the front office was going to push to finalize this deal before everyone goes on summer vacation when mini-camp breaks.
While the specifics of the deal are not available yet, I can give you a pretty accurate projection. Here are the estimates I made a month or so ago.
Since then, all but four 2nd round picks have signed their deals. I can say that Tuitt’s signing bonus estimate might be a tad high, and his cap number may end up being a little lower than the $853K I originally predicted.
The Steelers have signed former Ohio State running back Jordan Hall. CB Deion Belue has been released to make room on the roster.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/479244675577311232
Hall is 5’8, 196 lbs and ran for 536 yards last season. He also had 5 kick returns for a total of 122 yards. It’s worth noting that in 2010 and 2011, he had a combined 44 kick return attempts for a total of 1,186 yards. A medical redshirt, Hall’s 2013 production was hampered by a nagging knee injury. In 2012, he had a partial PCL tear, not long after coming back from surgery to a freak cut he suffered to his foot. Last August, Urban Meyer said Hall was the best running back on the team.
Here is Jordan Hall in OSU’s opener against Buffalo last season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knS4Uf5daG4
The Steelers were awarded Belue off of waivers last month. The rookie cornerback was waived by the Dolphins, who signed him as an undrafted free agent shortly after the draft.
Hall’s contract will be for 3 years, and will likely include little to no signing bonus money. Belue’s was also a 3 year deal.
Steelers outside linebacker Jason Worilds spent nearly all of OTA’s rehabbing his injured leg. Some people speculated it was a hamstring injury, others a calf injury, but whatever it was- it kept him from meaningfully participating in the voluntary practices.
Worilds was in attendance for today’s opening of mini-camp, and was able to participate in individual drills.
During the latter part of practice today, Worilds was back to the sideline rehabbing his leg. As a side note, the same was said for DE Nick Williams, who was able to participate in the first part of practice, but adjourned to the sideline to rehab his knee.
The following brief, low budget video taken by Kaboly gives us a glimpse of Joey Porter coaching up Jason Worilds and the linebacker group in individual drills today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aBsCmbztYE
The next video clip is another look at the linebackers running drills. Timmons shows excellent use of his hands as he tears through the bags.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDSUDu_qN8E
Day 2 of mini-camp is tomorrow, and the last day is Thursday. After that, the team will be on break until July 25th when training camp begins.
The Steelers wrapped up day 1 of mandatory mini-camp today. The men who missed all or most of voluntary OTA’s were in attendance today as expected. S Troy Polamalu, CB Ike Taylor, and LB Jordan Zumwalt were all present and accounted for. There was one rookie however who wasn’t present- Martavis Bryant.
Martavis Bryant, the Steelers 4th round selection, was reportedly home sick today after coming down with a virus yesterday. Markus Wheaton missed some of the final OTA practices, but participated fully today. Dri Archer, however, was sidelined about halfway through today’s practice with a bag of ice on his knee.
Hopefully Bryant’s illness doesn’t sideline him for the entire mini-camp. Rookies need every minute they can get, and as Coach Haley said earlier today, “he’s got a long way to go”.
“[Bryant’s] another rookie, so we’re not anointing him. He’s got a long way to go, because at the receiver position, there are a lot of subtle things that go on, but he’s big and fast and what sets him apart and should give him a chance to succeed is that he gets to top speed fast for a guy that big,” Haley said in an interview earlier today.
Mini-camp continues tomorrow and concludes on Thursday. The team then breaks until training camp begins July 25th.
The Steelers 3 day mandatory minicamp kicks off today. The padless sessions are referred to as “baby training camp” by cornerback Ike Taylor, and aside from the important football practices that go on, they’re the first opportunity for us to hear from assistant coaches publicly.
Todd Haley spent some time talking about quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with the media today. The two were once the focus of a media magnifying glass, and they’re supposed rocky relationship may have been the most overblown narrative in the history of Pittsburgh sports. Either way, you’d never know that was the case while listening to Todd Haley talk today.
Haley attributes Ben’s leadership and mental focus to much of the team’s turnaround last season. “In those low times the true leadership of the team shows, and some of those low Wednesdays when we came out for practice and were 2-6, it could have been easy to just go through the motions,” said Haley via the Steelers website. “But in those situations you saw Ben take charge, and a lot of those practices that were make-or-break practices from the coaches’ perspective, you could see there was no quit. We kept fighting until the end when we were watching Kansas City miss the field goal against San Diego in overtime in that last game of the season that kept us out of the playoffs. Even though it was a rough, tough year and nobody was satisfied with it, a lot of good came out of it that should help us moving forward.”
The Steelers offense looked like a well oiled machine for much of second half of the 2013 season. Haley hopes to build on that success, but with new faces at WR and RB this year, Haley knows that all starts with Ben Roethlisberger’s leadership.
“They all see him as the leader of the team. It’s very clear that when Ben speaks, or he’s on the field for his set of plays in practice, he’s running the show,” Haley continued. “Whether guys are on the field with Ben or not, they’ve all got their ears perked up and they’re listening to anything that he says. The entire group will look to the quarterback always, and we’re fortunate we have a guy who has played well in a lot of games and played well in a lot of big games. And because he’s not going to be satisfied unless we’re playing in the final game, the Super Bowl, the entire group, being a younger group, will lean on Ben all the way until we get there.”
Summer hasn’t even begun yet, but there’s plenty to be excited about come September.
The Steelers plan to honor legendary coach Chuck Noll this season according to team president Art Rooney II. Mr. Rooney was on NFL AM yesterday sharing his memories of coach Noll. During the interview, he revealed that the team intends to honor his memory this season by including him on a jersey patch or helmet decal.
Art II was asked what plans the team had to honor Chuck Noll at home this season. “Well, coincidentally this season will be the 40th anniversary of our first superbowl win. So, we had planned on wearing a patch for one game this year, and bringing back the 1974 team,” Rooney told the cast of NFL AM. “Obviously we’ll build on that, and we’ll be of course including probably a patch, or a decal, or something. We’ll be working on that over the next couple of days, but obviously we’ll be including Chuck in the plans in terms of honoring that team, and honoring him.”
The Steelers aren’t the only Pittsburgh team planning to incorporate a jersey tribute. The Pitt Power is planning to add a decal to their jerseys to honor the late Steelers coach. Power co-owner Matt Shaner told reporters over the weekend that the team has requested league approval regarding a jersey decal which would pay tribute to Noll. Pitt Power is Pittsburgh’s Arena league AFL franchise.
Second year wide receiver Justin Brown is looking at a familiar situation this summer. He’ll be on the roster bubble, fighting for the remaining receiver spot on the depth chart. With a year on the practice squad under his belt, he’s in a better position now than he was last year. According to various reports, he performed well at OTA’s, and coaches took notice.
Brown was running with first team receivers these past few weeks at OTA’s, and the 6’3″ receiver knows the significance of that. “It is definitely good getting some reps with the ones,” Brown said. “When my number is called, I am just trying make sure that I’m ready and I know what I am doing. I’ve noticed (the coaches see what I’m doing), and it’s definitely encouraging.”
Justin Brown was drafted by the Steelers in the 6th round last year. In 2012, Brown totaled 75 receptions for 879 yds, including 5 touchdowns, and amassed over 200 yards in punt returns. While not one to get separation at the top of his route with elusive speed, he demonstrated frequently that he was an instinctual hands catcher, and used his long frame to attack the ball in the air. Even though he transferred from Penn State after the 2011 season, he quickly became Landry Jones’ go to chain moving target.
Brown’s friend and former teammate at Penn State- Derek Moye- is his biggest competition this summer for a roster spot. “We’re all out here competing, we’re all out here trying to get better,” Brown said via ESPN. “Derek’s my boy so there’s no hard feelings at all. We’re always trying to help each other out with our games.”
Moye made the 53 man roster last year, but saw a very limited amount of playing time (53 snaps). He echoed Justin Brown’s sentiments. “It’s going to be a good competition. At the same time we’re out there helping each other out, making sure we all push each other to be better.”
Both Brown and Moye were putting in extra time working out with Ben Roethlisberger back in February, as was Markus Wheaton. While OTA’s are just ‘football in shorts’, it certainly seems like the extra work is paying off in Brown’s case. The wide receiver position battle is going to be a very interesting one to watch in August.
The times for the funeral and public viewings of former Steelers Head Coach Chuck Noll have been announced. Noll died at his home in Sewickley Friday night.
Public visitation will be held at John A. Freyvogel Sons funeral home Sunday night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and on Monday from 2 to 4, and again at 6 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning at St. Paul Cathedral. You can see further details for viewing services at the funeral home’s website here.
If you wish to attend, you can see the map and get directions to the funeral home below.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”ChuckNollfuneral”]
Here is the map to St. Paul’s if you are interested as well.
Charles Henry Noll left behind a legacy of greatness. His likeness became the symbol for hard work and tradition, and set the ethereal standard of success for future generations of Steelers players and fans. Coach Noll was a reluctant celebrity who avoided the limelight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Landry, Lombardi, Shula, or Madden’s name’s misspelled, but The Emperor still gets the inevitable silent K from time to time.
The man who coached the Steelers Dyansty of the 70’s touched countless lives during his 23 years as Steelers head coach and beyond. Here is a very small sample of reactions from fans, coaches, former players and more around the web today.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement about Noll’s passing earlier today.
What set Chuck Noll apart was his remarkable ability as a teacher. His subject was football and his students became four-time Super Bowl champions. Coach Noll’s quiet leadership produced extraordinary results that deeply inspired players, coaches and fans. He always put the team, his players, and the game first. His legacy of excellence will forever be an important part of the history of the Steelers and the NFL. We extend our condolences to Chuck’s wife Marianne, his son Chris, the Noll family, and the Steelers organization.
Art Rooney II was on 97.3 The Fan this morning sharing his thoughts on Chuck Noll. Art II described him as a tremendous person and a great person to be around. He also agrees that Coach Noll was the most important component of the Steelers development into a Dynasty. You can listen below.
The following interviews are also from 93.7 The Fan today. Coach Cowher, Mel Blount, and Merril Hoge all share their feelings on the passing of the iconic Steelers coach. Cowher
Blount
Hoge
Many former Steeler greats shared their thoughts via the Steelers website. I’ll just include a couple, but I recommend following the link to see the rest.
Terry Bradshaw:
“It’s certainly sad for Marianne and Chris to lose a husband and a father. In Marianne’s case, Chuck was her best friend. There is nothing sadder. And you start thinking about Chuck and when all of the wonderful things that come to mind, you realize he’s in heaven and spending eternity in peace. That’s very refreshing. I’m proud to have played for him. It was a great honor.
My relationship wasn’t good, as you well know, but he made me understand my job responsibilities, because I had to grow up. I came out of an environment with nothing but pats on the back and love. With him it was nowhere near that. I had to go through all the developments emotionally of how to deal with it. He was a tough coach to me, and I spent more time with him than anybody, so I know. I learned how to be mentally tough with him, and for that I can never say thank you enough, because that got me through divorces, Super Bowls, and those times when I had bad moments in big games. He made me mentally strong, which I wasn’t. And he instilled in me a great work ethic. I had a good work ethic, but preparation was paramount with him, so we spent a lot of time going through preparations for the games.
He was an amazing guy. I watched him more than he watched me (laughs). I had a great amount of fear for him. He’s kind of like a father from whom you want approval and you don’t quite get it, and in the advent of that journey you work harder and harder, you try to get better and better, and then when it’s all said and done he says, “Thank you. You were a great quarterback.” And you say, “Wow!” He was different than anybody I had ever been around and played for. He was smart, really smart. His game plans were spot on. He figured out the 3-4 blitzing schemes. He figured out the flex. He was just an amazing football mind. I would say I know I more about defenses than I do offenses because that’s what he taught me. He taught me defenses. If you know defenses you can run offenses.”
Franco Harrris:
“I am a little shocked by this, and sad. My condolences and my heart goes out to Marianne. She’s a great lady. These are times when we reflect on all the great memories and the great times that we had. And there’s no doubt that these memories that we had, probably people consider them the best of times in pro football. That goes for Chuck, the organization and the team he put together.”
Lastly, here are a few thoughts I selected randomly from some of the members of our community-
“I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.
Such a great man. I don’t often say I have an idol, but he was one.
Rest well, dear friend. We never met, but you touched my life just the same.
My deepest sympathies to his friends and family. Steeler Nation has lost an icon.”
“Gracias por todo lo que hiciste por nuestro amado equipo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Rest in peace you were the greatest coach of the greatest team ever assembled in any sport! I am so glad for being a little part of the Steeler Nation, that was brought to greatness by you. Thanks again Mr. Noll RIP.”
“One of the most important Steelers ever. He, Dan Rooney and Joe Greene transformed the Steelers. RIP Emperor the greatest coach the Steelers will EVER have.”
“Wow. I almost feel like a member of my family has died. In one sense, I guess that’s true, he’s a member of my Steelers’ family. Simply put, he was the most dignified and the classiest head coach ever to walk the sidelines of an NFL stadium. I’ve heard the word “stoic” attributed to Noll but I don’t think that’s true. A person who is stoic is essentially indifferent to what’s going on around him. Ask Jerry Glanville if he’d describe Noll as stoic. Ask Bradshaw or any player that had the privilege of playing for him if Coach Noll was indifferent.
One of my favorite Noll memories was Super Bowl XIV when the Steelers were trailing the Rams 13-10 at halftime after a lackluster first half. Steeler fans, including me, were nervous because the team just didn’t seem to be clicking that day and the underdog Rams seemed primed for an upset. But as the team was leaving the field Noll starting walking toward the locker room with a CBS camera man back pedaling with a camera in his face. Noll then began jogging slowly with the camera guy still back pedaling. Then Noll decided to have a little fun. He sped up to a sprint for a few steps and the poor camera guy finally decided to give it up. Noll laughed heartily as he continued on to the locker room. I knew then that the Steelers had the Rams exactly where they wanted them going into the second half. We’ll sure miss you, Chuck. May God bless your family during this difficult time.”
“Rest in peace, Coach.
I met him once and he was just as dignified in person as he always seemed on TV. He is definitely on the Mt. Rushmore of NFL coaching legends.”
“Goodbye to the much loved, much trusted leader and friend to a team, its many players, its owners, an entire city, and the fans who stand loyal worldwide. Blessings to all who will mourn him, and many thanks to a great guy.”
“RIP Coach Noll. You will never be forgotten. Any Steelers fan young and old will always have you to thank for the greatest franchise in the history of sports. Without your guidance there would never have been the dynasty that set this team to be the best ever.
I’ll never forget meeting you at a hunting and fishing club after catching some trout all day. I should have spent more time with you, Rockey, Ham, Russell and the few others up at the club house but the trout were really biting that day. I remember my dad coming down to pry me away from the lake to meet all of you but as an 8 yr old at the time I had no idea of what a true iconic legend really was.
RIP Coach.”
You can share your own thoughts with other members of Steeler Nation in the forum thread here, or in the comments below.
