IT’S BUMBLEBEE WEEK!!!

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Cam Heyward, class act that he is, has decided to stop wearing his signature Iron Head eye black, and instead is teaming with eyeblack.com to sell customized eye black with proceeds going to charity. Under pressure and fines from the NFL league office, Heyward felt this was the right move as he was never intending to obtain publicity for himself but rather was making a simple personal tribute to his late father, running back Iron Head Heyward, who died of brain cancer at age 39.

Steel Balls recommends that every Steeler fan purchase a set of Iron Head eye black, to wear along with your other Steelers gear. There is no better way to honor Cam than to help him to honor his father  while also contributing to a good cause. If Roger Goodell happens to find himself embarrassed on national TV when the cameras pan to show a crowd of towel waving, eye black wearing fans, that would just be a happy bonus, and a fantastic return on investment for a mere $3.99. 50% of all sales will be donated to the Heyward House, which in turn will be donated to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Southeastern Brain Tumor foundation.

The Iron Head eye black is available at eyeblack.com. I’m ordering mine today. Spread the word!

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I have this dream that one day Steelers fans will cease from looking at a players Salary Cap figure, conclude that figure is what he makes that season and then decide if his play meets that figure’s worth.

Alas, it will probably never happen. Most fans do not understand the NFL salary cap and most who have no understanding, also have no desire to gain one. And that’s ok. However, if you are going to take a hard stance on player worth, you should know what goes into a Player’s Cap Charge.

Take for example the most recent target of many Steelers fans’ perceptions of NFL contracts and their cap implications: Lawrence Timmons. Timmons IS NOT scheduled to make $15 million plus in 2016, contrary to what many believe. His total compensation will be $8.75 million. That’s still a lot, but it’s right in line with the other top ILBs in the league as you can see below in a screen shot table from Over The Cap that differentiates Cap Figure from Cash Expenditure for 2016.

I should first explain that the annual cap figure for a player consists of his base salary, plus any bonuses due, plus any bonus proration scheduled to be accounted for in that given year. It’s understanding how bonus proration works and how it is applied that is key to understanding how teams manipulate their cap each season.

A player is not going to willingly agree to push his earnings into a future year when he can be cut at any time and end up having to forfeit those earnings. In order to create space teams use accounting loopholes put in place by the CBA. Key among them is bonus proration.

If you have no desire to know why $8,381,250 of Timmons’ past (this is the key and operative word) earnings count on the 2015 salary cap, stop reading. But, if you do have a desire to know how NFL contracts are frequently structured and restructured to “kick the can down the road”, read on. It should be pretty simple to understand by the end of this.  Read the rest of this entry »

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SF58 Whips Mike Vick

We collectively doff our caps to Steelersfan58 who proved us all wrong about Landry Jones being a superior alternative to Mike Vick. Jones, despite having the gayest mustache since the Village People, is the hero of the Steelers’ pleasantly surprising 25-13 victory over the Cardinals.

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Old warriors before the battle.

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Here is a fan comment following the most recent loss. I thought it would be interesting to dissect.

Who was stunned? Not me. This team is atrocious. The talent on both sides of the ball is mediocre at best, but the defense from Butler to the LBs to the DBs and Safeties are not professional caliber. That we are actually paying that much for those players shows how time has also passed Colbert by. We keep losing good players because our CAP space is so poorly managed every year. This team needs to be dismantled starting with Haley with Tomlin not being too far behind. The stupid penalties show the coaches have lost control of these mediocre players. The D is so easy to rip apart; but the offense is not much better. If money wasn’t wasted on bad contracts extra could have kept the play makers in Pittsburgh instead of contributing to other teams in the NFL.

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Depth Chart updated 11/5.

Pouncey is on IR/dfr. Eligible to practice after week 6, play after week 8, if his health allows him to do so.

This chart is a copy of the one posted by the Steelers.There are inconsistencies in the way that some players are used and their spot on the depth chart.  For instance, you might get the sense that Boykin would play over Cockrell or even Blake. Hubbard is also listed higher than Legursky on the depth chart, but has been a healthy scratch in every game. McCullers was also listed as probable Monday and was inactive at game time.

Lowest tier guys and others eliminated by roster moves, below the break:

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Check out the info graphic at the top of the screen: 3rd and 13, score tied 13 to 13, 3rd period with 13:13 to go and 3 seconds on the play clock.

Maybe Cleveland should change its mascot from a brown dog to a black cat.

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