Steelers’ forward wall missing a few bricks

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, August 23, 2007  |  Comments( 1 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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Alan Faneca is disgruntled. Marvel Smith is sore. Max Starks is struggling, and Jeff Hartings is gone.

So should Pittsburgh Steelers fans be worried about their 2007 offensive line? Probably not.

Yes, the Steelers have allowed eight sacks in three preseason games, four of them against the Green Bay Packers. But three of those were charged to Starks, who was attempting to play an unfamiliar left tackle position in subbing for Smith.

In the meantime, Starks appears to have lost his starting right tackle job to second-year man Willie Colon, a 6-foot-3, 315-pounder out of Hofstra.

Colon lost 10 pounds during the offseason, making him a step quicker, and he demonstrated that in an early practice session by pancaking highly regarded rookie DE LaMarr Woodley.

"I love Max," Colon told the Pittsburgh Tribune, "and he knows how the job's going to be. The NFL is all about competition."

Longtime center Hartings was driven into retirement by balky knees after last year, and newcomer Sean Mahan (a free-agent pickup) looks like the starter there, with five-time Pro Bowler Faneca and Kendall Simmons at guards. When Smith gets over some back problems, he'll open at left tackle, and Colon appears to have barged into the right tackle spot.

For now, anyway.

"We talk about how important this is," Faneca told reporters after one practice, "but at the same time, the chances of five guys playing together all year are slim to none."

Except, perhaps, in Pittsburgh, where the same line has started together for four years.

Faneca has said he will be a free agent after this season, while Simmons and Starks are in the final year of their contracts. Perhaps the latter pair are trying too hard.

The current line has been less than dominant during the preseason, but the problems have been different every game. It was hard to complain about offensive line play after the opener, in which the Steelers gained 413 total yards. The Green Bay game produced the rash of sacks, but then the Steelers allowed only one quarterback takedown against Washington -- the problem that game was a 3.0-yards-per-carry fizzle by the running game.

The biggest concern at the moment is finding a reliable backup for Smith. That apparently won't be Starks, but it may be third-year man Trai Essex (6-4, 320), who performed well in at least one exhibition game. Meanwhile, Simmons is being pushed hard by Chris Kemoeatu, who could also play tackle.

As could Faneca, who was once shifted there during the season when Smith was hurt. Now, given his awkward situation with Steeler management, he said he'd have to think about it.

Later, though, the former LSU star said he would do whatever was best for "the guys I'm playing with."

Whomever they are.

Get original Pittsburgh Steelers coverage at RealFootball365.com
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