Adjust your rosters Steelers Fans. Newly added quarterback Byron Leftwich will sport the jersey number FOUR when he takes the field for the first time in Black and Gold Thursday night facing the Buffalo Bills. Yes, he should see action as he went through his first full practice yesterday and did well. I know there are Byron haters out there, and I too have said in the past that he was not very good. However, I have stuck to my belief that he isn’t the worst quarterback in the league. With that said, the only way he sees action in the regular season is if Ben Roethlisberger gets hurt and we can only hope that day NEVER comes. If the Steelers find themselves in a blowout this season (and that’s highly unlikely given our schedule), then you may then see the new #4 take the field. Byron’s deal he signed is for one-year at the NFL minimum of $645,000 which also awarded him with a signing bonus of $40,000. Following the practice Leftwich faced the media and had the following to say.
“I am happy to be here and that Coach Tomlin gave me this opportunity. I am excited because it is a new offense. There are new, good football players around me. As a quarterback you love that. Only a fool would come in this place and think week one he would be the starter. My goal is not going to change. It’s to help the team. I am going to work my tail off and do whatever they ask of me. It’s different because you are not the guy, but it’s not different because my whole goal is to help the football team any way I can. That is what I am going to do. I am going to prepare myself everyday in case I am needed. If I am needed we can’t miss a beat and that is what I am going to try to work myself too. I just want to play football and help the team as much as I can. That's my mind-set, just go out there, become a better player, help this football team, see what happens. We all know who the guy is. My job is to prepare myself every day in case I'm needed. And if I'm needed I have to go out there and we can't miss a beat, and that's what I'm going to work myself toward. Any time you put on the shoulder pads and helmet the first day is always tough. I have been working out but with no helmet and shoulder pads. I was in Miami training just getting ready and waiting on the call. I wanted to make sure when I got the call I was ready.”
Leftwich’s quarterback coach at one time in Jacksonville was OUR current quarterbacks coach, Ken Anderson. Anderson on his newest addition:
“Byron was a No. 1 pick, the seventh overall in the draft. He's started in the league, won games in the league. We're happy to have him here to kind of bail us out. Your quarterback's throwing motion is his throwing motion and that's not going to change a whole lot. Everyone knows Byron's got a little of an elongated motion and he's going to have to make it up with smarts and anticipation”
Leftwich on Anderson…
“It’s a blessing in disguise. Football is the same, but to have a guy who coached me all of those years he can translate it for me. We had some of the same plays, the communication and interpretation is different. He can translate it for me and that way I can get it right now. I am behind everybody. I am trying to learn as fast as I can. To have a guy like that who you had a relationship before and have a lot of respect for helps me out.”
The most important opinion however, is that of Mike Tomlin:
“He's been a franchise quarterback for a playoff caliber team. We're fortunate to add a guy like him. We have some familiarity there. He had a great workout. He has a strong arm, he's very lean and he's a smart guy, a been-there, done-that guy. Hopefully we'll have him up to snuff and have him participate as soon as Thursday night. I was impressed simply by the fact he's a quick study. He was able to step out there, step in the huddle, spew the verbiage out, get people lined up actually and deliver the ball around. He's a very sharp guy, that's obvious ... I would guess he'll be able to play on Thursday.”
In the event you didn’t see how the whole transaction panned out, the Steelers released wide receiver Gerran Walker and linebacker Anthony Trucks to make room for Leftwich and also added veteran punter Mitch Berger 
who has been around the league for like forever. After Paul Ernster’s performance last Friday you might be wondering why we added another punter. It appears Mike Tomlin wants to be sure he has the absolutely best punter on the field when the season begins. He’s taking no chances and for that I like the decision. Tomlin on the two punter competition:
“I think it's important we have two veteran guys who have kicked in the National Football League. They're going to battle it out, kick for kick, the next three weeks. Whoever our punter is will have earned the job.”
As for Berger, he’s been around the block several times. He began his career in Philadelphia in 1994, then made his way onto the roster of the Minnesota Vikings until 2001. He punted one season for the Rams then moved onto play for New Orleans for three seasons before moving west to the Arizona Cardinals in 2007 where he punted just 20 times averaging just 40.7 yards per punt. For his career his average is 43.1, a 75-yarder his longest that came in 1999. Out of 730 punts 233 have gone inside the 20 with 72 touchbacks and only three punts blocked. His net average for his career is 35.1. Last year he was limited with a groin injury and also had to have surgery to repair a damaged lower abdominal muscle and pelvic bone. Those injuries forced his absence from the 2006 campaign. Berger’s commentary follows.
“It took a while to learn how to do everything again. When you've been doing it all that time and you take a break, your body has to get used to it again. I'm just working on my kicking, get my timing and get used to everything again.”
More on the Leftwich deal now from one of my favorite NFL sources.
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk.com, Rumor Mill
Leftwich Inks One-Year Minimum Deal
How desperate was quarterback Byron Leftwich to find work? Sufficiently desperate to accept a one-year deal for the league minimum. Per the Post-Gazette, Leftwich received a $40,000 signing bonus and will be paid a base salary of $605,000 in 2008. Leftwich reportedly was the team’s first choice, with Daunte Culpepper providing leverage to get Leftwich to accept the Steelers’ offer. Leftwich also wanted some assurances as to what his status will be once Charlie Batch is cleared to play. Financially, it won’t matter whether Leftwich stays or goes. Every NFL player with four or more years of services is entitled, once in his career, to take the balance of his unpaid salary as “termination pay,” if he is cut after Week One of the regular season. Under the CBA, only $425,000 of Leftwich’s base salary will count against the salary cap. The balance of the amount is treated as a player benefit. In fact, the Steelers will actually pay to Leftwich only the $425,000 plus the $40,000 bonus. The rest of the money comes from a league-wide benefit pool. The device was implemented several years ago as a way to encourage teams to hire older players. Currently, the $425,000 payment and cap charge for a one-year deal given to a player with four or more credited seasons is $95,000 cheaper than the minimum salary for a player with three credited seasons. A player with two seasons has a minimum salary of $445,000, a player with one season costs at least $370,000, and a player with no credited seasons has a minimum salary of $295,000. Given his nine years of service, Culpepper could have been paid a base salary of $730,000, and it would have only cost the Steelers $425,000 in real dollars and cap space.
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For the record, Daunte Culpepper was also in Pittsburgh for a tryout but he insisted in getting a shot at the starting role wherever he ends up and his ego got the best of him. If he keeps that attitude he’ll end up nowhere. For Leftwich, if he makes it to opening day, NFL rules state the Steelers must pay him for the entire season. For a moment yesterday, I was thinking with Charlie Batch’s injury; the play of Dennis Dixon; and if Leftwich can impress; perhaps Charlie should contemplate retirement. Think about it…he’s not getting any younger; he’ll never be the starter; we have a decent backup now; and Dixon can only get better. Just a thought.
The new “Fats” is back. Except he is not as fat as when he reported to camp a few weeks ago. Of course I am talking about Casey Hampton. Hampton was removed from the Physically Unable to Perform List (PUP) yesterday and took part in yesterday’s drills. Hampton looked back:
“I definitely think it benefited me. I don't see it as a negative. I'm not a big fan of the preseason and all that banging and stuff anyway for older guys. We know how to play football, being an older guy and being in the same system for this long period of time. It saved me a little bit, but it's time to go, it's time to get out there and go to work with my teammates and I'm ready. Coach made a decision and he's the coach. I'm here to help this team win; I'm willing to do that any way I can, and whatever's asked of me, I'll do it.”
Tomlin’s take:
“As of right now, it looks like he's knocking the rust off pretty quickly. We anticipate him participating on Thursday unless he has a setback. I evaluated the progress and felt it was up to snuff. He's down a significant amount of weight. By no means is he a finished product. He'll get extra work after practice. The whole emphasis is to make sure he's the most dominant nose tackle in football.”
Ok fans, what is up with our boy Troy Polamalu? Is he injury-prone? Here in Jacksonville there are many who refer to Fred Taylor as Fragile Fred. Quite the contrary. Taylor is not injured very often. But it seems that Polamalu has been getting hurt more and more the last two seasons. He again missed yesterday’s practice and remains on the PUP list. Tomlin on whether he is inching closer to resuming practice:
“I assume he is, but when that will occur I don't know at this point.”
We need Polamalu, but if he can’t get healthy, then we need to put him on injured reserve and get someone else ready to play in his place. As for Charlie Batch, his surgery was performed yesterday on his fractured collarbone and Big Ben showed up on the practice field with a number “16” on the side of his helmet. More on the Steelers from the internet comes next.
Alex Marvez, FoxSports.com, Interpreting the latest spin from every NFL team
As part of FOXSports.com's Decision '08 preseason preview, we've set up our own "No Spin Zone." FOX News show host Bill O'Reilly can consider it an homage or blatant rip-off. Of course, we prefer homage. But as the O'Reilly Factor front-man would say, that's our spin. In the past month, representatives from every NFL team have raised eyebrows or generated eye rolls with some of their comments. FOXSports.com senior NFL Writer Alex Marvez has read between the lines and offered his take on what was said and what it actually means.
AFC North
Pittsburgh. The spin: "I have spent my entire life devoted to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football League. I will do everything possible to work out a solution to ensure my father's legacy of keeping the Steelers in the Rooney family and in Pittsburgh for at least another 75 years." — Steelers chairman Dan Rooney in a released statement about the team's ownership situation, July 8.
Marvez spin: Notice no guarantees were made. The thought of the franchise being headed by someone other than Rooney and his son Art is as hard to fathom as a Steelers home game without Terrible Towels. But it could very well become reality unless Dan Rooney can buy control of the club from his four brothers. This has the potential to become an off-field distraction that second-year coach Mike Tomlin will have to deal with.
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James Walker, ESPN.com, Five questions with ... Aaron Smith
Recently we caught up with Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith to discuss, among other things, his alma mater and what a biceps tear feels like.
1. As a 10-year veteran, how hard is it to make it through a decade in this league?
Aaron Smith: It's hard at first just trying to learn the game. Then once you figure out the game, it's hard to get your body right to play the game. It is difficult. I'd say it takes four years to figure out how to play. That's around the time you realize that you belong in the league.
2. Do you feel age concerns with the defensive line are legit or overrated?
AS: I think it's overrated. Like I tell everybody else, 30 is the new 20, you know (laughs). But we have a lot of depth as opposed to a lot of teams, and it's a lot of mature depth. So we don't have to take 80 snaps a game. We can rotate and bring guys in and out.
3. What is your college, the University of Northern Colorado, best known for?
AS: What is it known for? That's an interesting question. Well, I would probably say it's a good teaching school. It's a small Division II school, and it's not really a whole lot more to say about it, other than it's a good teaching school.
4. Who is your favorite NFL player to watch that's not on your team?
AS: Bryant Young. He was my favorite player. He just retired, but I liked his motor. He played hard and had good technique day in and day out.
5. You tore your biceps last season. Describe what that feels like.
AS: It feels like getting shot with a gun. It's a burning, painful sensation. Every time I tried to use my arm, it felt like someone was digging a knife in my arm. It curled up to here (points to upper arm). I have a picture of it from the game. I tore it in the first quarter and played the rest of the game on it. I have a picture of me running and you can see it's all curled up.
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