Contract Restructure and Salary Cap?

[madmikey]

Gilbert was a right tackle this season, so moving him to LT would create a hole at RT. Center is set, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Pouncey is still over rated IMO.

Colon will play at RT. He was a decent tackle but has been injured pretty much all of the last two seasons.

[srobert96]

The tackles and center are set. I wouldn't be surprised if they took a guard early though. And I'm not sure where people see the bad drafting. In 2010 they drafted Pouncey, Sanders, Brown - all of whom start or play significant time. They also still have Worilds, Sylvester and Dwyer as backups. To me that's a productive draft.

From 2011 the Steelers have Gilbert, who started at tackle his first year and played pretty well. They also have Heyward, Brown, Allen and Batch who are all still with the team as backups. Heyward's time will increase and the staff has been very happy with Brown and Allen.

From 2009 they have Hood and Wallace as starters and Lewis as the top nickel back - not amazing but not awful either.

2011: Too early to tell. Heyward did not light the world on fire. Gilbert could be a good pick. Not sure anyone else saw the field.
2010: Pouncey and Brown very good. Worilds has been underwhelming when filling in for Harrison and Woodley. Sanders good so far. Still early on this draft.
2009: Hood and Wallace - Hood has not been anything special. If he were a Raven we would be labeling him a bust. Started this year because of injuries to the starters. I don't think the other 7 players they drafted are even on the roster.
2008: The only player doing anything from that draft is Mendenhall. Other than Dixon there is no one on the team from that draft.
2007: Woodley and Timmons a punter and Gay who plays but not very good.

Only 7 starters from the last 5 years. with the short life expectancy of the NFL that is low.

Over the same period the Ravens drafted 11 starters. There are a bunch of non starters that are contributors for the Ravens. Not in the 11: Zibby, McPhee, Art Jones, Pitta, Haruki, Kruger, Reed, jah Reid, Tandon Doss, Laquan

I don't pay close enough attention to the Steelers to make a similar list.

[JMUpurkfool]

It appears that Pittsburgh is just trying to hold on for one more year... pushing back all this money is going to catch up to them soon and then the players will be leaving or not worth it (Polamalu, Harrison, Timmons).

Are the Steelers going to get better this offseason? No. They best they can do is keep most of the same players and hope they stay healthy next year.

[Tucker: M&T Sec 527]

Good answers here so I'll just add that it can be helpful to think of it as a credit card. When you spend money on your credit card, your income - i.e. the limit on what you can spend in the long run - doesn't change. And the amount of money you're spending doesn't change. What changes is when you actually pay the money.

Restructuring a deal simply means that the hit on your salary cap occurs later instead of sooner. Just kickin' that can down the road.

It can be a useful strategy if used in moderation, because the salary cap tends to increase over time. It can also be overused by short-sighted organizations and lead to "salary cap hell" - a rebuilding year or two with a limited budget - when all the bills finally come due.

True dat. Some of it I understood intuitively before, but appreciate seeing it in plain[er] English. Would have been even more instructive using HOME TEAM examples. I know Pitts. was facing lots of cap juggling as 2011 ended, & I know they remain the focus of evil in our modern world but it is nice to stop thinking about them once in a while

[Ravens825]

I seem to have a better understanding. Even if the Steelers get just under the cap do they not need money to pay whoever they draft this off season?

[Jeremiah W]

I seem to have a better understanding. Even if the Steelers get just under the cap do they not need money to pay whoever they draft this off season?

Whatever cap situation they may be in I would bet a lot they win 30 games over the next 3 years. I also doubt they lose anyone they regret having to let go in the long term. Maybe Harrison goes somewhere and has a couple good seasons like Joey Porter but overall they will come out of this cap situation as dangerous as they always are IMO.