If it ain,t broke don't fix it

The Steelers have never been a team that has made bad financial decisions once players hit a certian age they never sign them to long term deals. With the rational that older players cost more and are more likely to get hurt or just decline in play.

This is why they didn't sign Alan Fanaca long term. If they would of been able to draft  a solid guard last year in the draft they probably would of let him walk. This has been the case with just about every star Rod Woodson Kevin Greene Joey Porter doesn't matter its how they operate and just because Bill Cohwer is gone doesn't mean things are going to change. So Finally realize this is why they let him walk aside from the fact that he didn't want to be there unless he was being overpaid.

As for Max Starks signing his offer sheat I wouldn't be suprised to see him sign a long term deal before to long  thats friendly to the team this season and rewards him if he performs this year and takes hold of the right tackle job so Willie Colon can move inside to his natural position of right guard.

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Chuck,

I disagree with Rod Woodson though, he played at a high enough level long after he left Pittsburgh. Unfortunately you are right about the players you listed, add in the following:  John Jackson, Chad Scott, Eric Green, Greg Lloyd. Those guys were never the same once they left, their apex had come and gone.

Starks is a natural LT, until he got dinged up, he filled in admirably for Marvel Smith. Don't forget he is still young, and a huge dude. We already know he can play at the NFL level, it's just a matter of getting him playing again and making him our LT for the future. He does not suck as some would suggest, I think he took his starting job for granted and Tomlin and the new coaches saw that lacadaisical approach and sat him. But as a business, Max Starks is a lineman that knows our plays so it made sense to make the moves to go towards a long term deal.

2 things that were broke last year. No Russ Grimm, no Jeff Hartings. I hope Justin Hartwig works out and does not perform like Sean Mahan did, Ben Roethlisberger almost got killed last year.

nybites

Max Starks is a lineman that knows our plays so it made sense to make the moves to go towards a long term deal.

Your not actually saying the Steelers are going to sign Starks to a long term deal because he knows the plays are you?

If they wanted to send Starks a wake up call they would have sat him for a game or two not for the season.  I don't think anyone including the Steelers know who the best 5 offensive linemen are.  How can they bench a guy one year and make him the 5th or 6th highest paid at his position the next year.

smcndfan; what you have to realize is that EVEN Starks played out of position. He is a natural LT; not RT. He is left-handed. His strength is on his left. He played our right side because we didn't have anyone who could be as effective as he was. The Steelers are going to sign Starks because he is the future on the left side. Smith will leave either because of free agency or because of retirement. When Starks got in games last year, he played admirably well. And he was on the left. The Steelers see what he is worth. That's why they weren't really willing to let him go and they placed the transition tag on him.

No one; including the Steelers, know who their best 5 linemen are; but they know the true value of each player.

An offensive lineman has to be one of the smartest players on the field, more so than the any position except the QB. Skill players are just that, and DL, LB, DB all are instinctive reactionary players who get put into position by the coaches.  OL is one of the hardes jobs to learn in the NFL, some guys just don't get it, we already know Max Starks has value on our team.

Actually knowing the plays and the system wich would take a rookie a year to learn, plus familiarity with his teamates, so in a nutshell yes overall. We all agree Starks played out of position. It makes sense to go to a long term deal because he is a known commodity. They are planning on him being the starting LT in 2009 or moving over from RT if Marvel cannot go this year, that is their plan, that is how I see it.

He came into camp last year assuming the RT job was his. Sitting him for a few games when Willie Colon was trying his azz off to play RT would have sent the wrong message to the team. YOu cannot honestly assess Max Starks until he plays LT, if he struggles then you have my blessing to shoot the Steeler executives for paying him an exorbant amount of cash. I have a feeling they know what they are doing and are looking at the long term solution to replacing Marvel Smith.

I hate that you are probably right about Fanaca, because I really like him as a player. Offensive linemen probably age a little better than some of the speed guys you mentioned, but the reasoning is still sound.

Starks however, I don't know. If you can't even win a starting job against a guy that has less experience than you, how can you get that kind of contract on a fiscally responsible team like the Steelers. He must have been secretly taking unlimited ballet classes to improve his footwork. I would just be satified if he was still slow, but at least mean as hell and actually used that size.