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P-G sports online editor Dan Gigler blogs about the Steelers.

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Draft 2009: The Centers

Iron Mike sets the standard.

No position has been more widely talked about as a potential first-round pick for the Steelers in 2009 than center, and with good reasons: 

  1. The Steelers offensive line, usually a strong suit, has been shaky at best over the last three years
  2. Steelers fans are waiting for the next true heir to the Mansfield-Webster-Dawson-Hartings o-line anchor lineage to emerge
  3. Most importantly, top caliber centers can be gotten near the end of the first round (where the Steelers pick) or even later in the draft.

Max Unger of Oregon and Alex Mack of Cal are two such guys who have continually emerged in mock drafts as potential Steelers. Mack is widely regarded as the top-overall prospect at the position and Unger is particularly enticing because he also can play guard. Check 'em out ...

Unger:

Mack:

Despite the obvious talent of these gents, BNG however, is of the opinion that the need for a center is colored mostly by emotion -- owing namely the afforementioned legacy of Steelers greatness at the position and the bad taste left by the Sean Mahan debacle of 2007.

At the start of the 2008 season, the Steelers offensive line might as well have been 5 Guys Named Moe for all the time they had played together as starters. But by the time the playoffs rolled along, Hartwig was probably the most consistent member of the line. There is little reason that he couldn't start there for at least another season (or 2).

For that reason BNG is of the opinion that the Steelers should not select a center in round one, and instead look for local product via Moon Twp. and Penn State, A.Q. Shipley, who will certainly be around in round two, or perhaps even three.

At 6' 1" and 304 pounds, he's a bit smaller than Mack or Unger, but he's a smart player who was once a defensive lineman for the Nittany Lions, so he has some insight into those across the ball from him. In 2008 he beat out Mack and Unger for the Dave Rimington Trophy -- awarded to the top center in college football -- while playing in the Big Ten, a division not exactly known for diminutive defensive lineman. Read Shipley's bio and check out this video of him destroying the 225-lbs. bench press at a Penn State charity event:

Posted Apr 21 2009, 07:03 PM by Dan Gigler
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Comments

Freedoman wrote re: Draft 2009: The Centers
on Tue, Apr 21 2009 10:11 PM

You're joking about Hartwig right? Two more years of this guy........God help us. He gave up more sacks than any other center in the NFL last regular season (6.5). And he gave up 2 pathetic sacks in just the 4th quarted of the Super Bowl, the last of which by all rights should have cost us the game.

Right now Ben Roethlisberger is the highest paid tackling dummy in the world and Hartwig isn't helping any.

Hartwig is in the last year of his contract, and I'm sure the Steelers will look elsewhere......hopefully in the 1st round.

Marnie wrote re: Draft 2009: The Centers
on Wed, Apr 22 2009 9:25 AM

I don't understand the argument that generally drafting a center in the first round is not a good idea.  They need one, they probably can get the best center in the draft at the end of round 1 and it wouldn't be a reach.  I'd rather them draft a center than reach for player at another position.

Dan Gigler wrote re: Draft 2009: The Centers
on Thu, Apr 23 2009 12:22 AM

Again, I didn't say the guy would ever be mistaken for Dirt Dawson or Jim Otto, but he was adequate and they can get by for another year with him while they groom a guy like Shipley or Eric Wood from Lousiville. The tackle situation was worse, which I'll get to in next post.

Dan Gigler wrote re: Draft 2009: The Centers
on Thu, Apr 23 2009 12:34 AM

Also -- keep in mind that Mike Webster was a 4th rounder and Dirt Dawson was a 2nd or 3rd (dont have it in front of me at the moment).

Freedoman wrote re: Draft 2009: The Centers
on Thu, Apr 23 2009 4:40 PM

My mistake, I thought you said " the opinion that the need for a center is colored mostly by emotion" and "Hartwig was probably the most consistent member of the line. There is little reason that he couldn't start there for at least another season (or 2)."

I do get a little emotional when I see Big Ben get sacked 4-5 times a game, especially in the Super Bowl. But your comment that Hartwig is good for maybe 2 years was what troubled me. I agree that Hartwig should start until a center is ready, but I want this new center ready by the end of the season and certainly by the playoffs. That's why I want a 1st or 2nd round pick at center, not some stiff who needs 4 years to groom.

hondo wrote re: Draft 2009: The Centers
on Fri, Apr 24 2009 12:13 AM

I agree with Freedoman. It seems fashionable to minimize the shortcomings of the Steeler O-line these days. Coach Tomlin praises them. You hear a lot of "Oh, they won a SB with them, so they can't be that bad" and stuff like that. But the problems in pass protection and run blocking are very real, and they need to be addressed by drafting some serious studs now. I realize that tackle is also a problem, but I tend to think the interior line is a just as pressing a need, if not more so. Stapleton is pathetic and nearly cost us the SB.