Barnes Burner: Steelers’ off-season moves dumfounding

What is going on with Steeler football? Last season, Pittsburgh finished 8-8, missed the playoffs and even lost to perennial losers the Cleveland Browns. Yes, those Browns.

Now, three months after the season’s conclusion — at least for Pittsburgh — nothing seems any better than it did a few months ago. If anything, things are getting worse. Listen to any sports talk radio in Pittsburgh and you’ll hear discussion regarding whether or not the Steelers are in a worse position than the Browns.

So why is that?

Free agency failure

So far, the Steelers have allowed receiver Mike Wallace, tailback Rashard Mendenhall and corner Keenan Lewis to leave in free agency. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh re-signed fast-fading 32-year-old linebacker Larry Foote, 35-year-old wideout Plaxico Burress and added backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski — if you can even call it an addition.

But hey, the latter graduated from Seton-La Salle High School, so he must be decent because he’s a local guy, right?

The only good Steelers move thus far was bringing back corner William Gay, but Steeler Nation decried that move. Gay spent the last season with the Arizona Cardinals, whom he helped become the No. 5-ranked pass defense in the league.

In 2011, his last year with the Steelers, Gay tied for the team lead with Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor with 14 passes disrupted.

But the real substance here lies not in what the Steelers gained — which is very little — but in what the team lost. In the current day and age of the NFL, the most valuable positions outside of the quarterback are arguably at receiver and corner.

The Steelers lost their best players at each position, with no suitable backup or replacement. Don’t ever try to argue that Antonio Brown is a No. 1 receiver or that Ike Taylor can still be a No. 1 corner.

Wallace had more touchdowns over the past four years than any other Steeler, and Lewis led the entire league in passes defended last season.

There’s just no justifiable explanation as to why that doesn’t warrant money for the team.

Draft-day misfires

Over the past five seasons or so, the Steelers found themselves in quite a comfortable situation. They had their team with no immediate needs and the ability to use draft picks to stock up for a time like, well, right now: The future is cloudy, and the Steelers face another possible season without a playoff trip.

Maurkice Pouncey, 2010’s first-round choice, worked out nicely. So has Lawrence Timmons, 2007’s first-rounder, whose numbers through this point in his career closely resemble those of Ray Lewis.

But other picks, such as defensive linemen Cameron Heyward and Evander “Ziggy” Hood, have yet to pan out. Plus, 2012 first-choice offensive lineman David DeCastro has yet to prove his worth after spending most of the recent season on the disabled list.

And in later rounds, during which a team is primarily built, many of the Steelers’ choices have been total misses. Lewis and Wallace were drafted later but are now gone. Same with 2007 first-rounder Rashard Mendenhall.

Emmanuel Sanders, Brown and corner Cortez Allen are really the only three impact players the Steelers drafted outside of the first round in recent years.

Philosophy

Worst of all, the Steelers’ philosophy is now one that just doesn’t work. Look no further than the hiring of Todd Haley, whose offense de-emphasized the big-play abilities of Wallace and Mendenhall, as offensive coordinator.

Steelers President and co-owner Art Rooney II hired Haley because he wanted to see his team return to “Steeler football.” Also look at how the Steelers reached two of the last four Super Bowls — by passing the football.

The Steelers won the 2009 Super Bowl title because of Ben Roethlisberger’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, not because of the performances of Willie Parker, Mewelde Moore and Gary Russell.

The same goes for 2011, when the Steelers reached the big game before losing to the Green Bay Packers. Mendenhall didn’t lead the Steelers through the playoffs — Roethlisberger and the receivers did.

The signature play of that playoff run was Brown’s 58-yard reception, which he trapped on his helmet late against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. The pass helped complete a drive that saw the Steelers finish a comeback after trailing 21-7 after the first half.

What does this mean? Steeler football has no place in the NFL these days. It’s backward.

In 2013, prepare for a lot of 2-yard runs up the middle by Jonathan Dwyer and 4-yard outs to Sanders and Brown, which will result in a great deal of three-and-outs for the Steelers — an outcome not much different than 2012.

Today, “Steeler football” is just stupid football.

Write Nate at njb32@pitt.edu.