By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/steelers/?m=1
After Rod Woodson was cut by the San Francisco 49ers after the 1997 season, former director of football operations Tom Donahoe was asked if the Steelers would be interested in bringing back their former cornerback.
"We're not the Salvation Army," Donahoe said at the time. "It's not an open door and 'everybody come on back in.' "
How times have changed.
For the fourth time in the past two months, the Steelers brought back one of their former players Saturday when they traded the second of their four fifth-round picks to the Arizona Cardinals to re-acquire cornerback Bryant McFadden, a No. 2 draft choice in 2005 who was a starter on the Super Bowl XLIII team."We felt that was a huge pickup -- a No. 2 pick for a fifth-round pick," secondary coach Ray Horton said. "Value-wise, you pick up an instant starting cornerback in the league for a fifth-round pick."
McFadden is the third player from that 2008 Super Bowl team to rejoin the Steelers after a one-year hiatus, along with inside linebacker Larry Foote and quarterback Byron Leftwich. Wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, who played on the 2005 Super Bowl team in which McFadden was a rookie, was also re-signed in free agency in March.
Who's next? Alan Faneca, the six-time Pro Bowl guard who was released Saturday by the New York Jets?
"I think it's really important getting guys like Larry and Bryant back," director of football operations Kevin Colbert said. "The guys [on the team] know who they're getting back, and they'll accept them."
After failing to take a cornerback in the first four rounds to help their leaky pass defense, the Steelers traded the 155th overall pick -- the selection obtained from the New York Jets in the Santonio Holmes trade -- to get an instant starter in McFadden, 28. The two sides then agreed in principle on a new three-year contract.
His return was necessitated when his replacement, William Gay, played poorly in 2009 and was eventually benched and replaced by veteran Deshea Townsend late in the season.
"We got a guy who knows what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and understands the culture here," coach Mike Tomlin said.
The deal was initiated by Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, who, knowing the Steelers needed a cornerback, contacted them Friday about a trade for McFadden. The possibility of that trade is one of the reasons the Steelers kept bypassing cornerbacks in the draft.
"It was always in the back of our minds," Colbert said.
McFadden left the Steelers after the 2008 season to sign a two-year, $10 million contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Cardinals, the team they beat in Super Bowl XLIII. But, even though he started all 16 regular-season games and two playoff games, he struggled in the postseason.
McFadden was repeatedly picked on and beaten for touchdowns in games against the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints, games in which Arizona allowed a combined 90 points.
But McFadden said he bruised his sternum and injured his shoulder against the Packers, then took several cortisone injections and played with the injuries against the Saints.
"Those two games didn't dictate how I played through the year," McFadden said. "I didn't perform the way I'm accustomed to performing, and everyone was kind of down. I was trying to be a competitor and compete, and playing in that condition wasn't healthy for me at all, physically and mentally. I was trying to be a competitor and a reliable guy, and fighting through that type of injury ending up hurting me. I told coach Whiz, if I had to do it all over again I might have just sat down."
Apparently, it did not bother the Steelers.
"All we know is he played well for us," Horton said. "Sometimes guys fit better in certain schemes. We understand what he is and we're excited to have him back."
And McFadden is excited to be back. After admitting he was "shocked" initially by the trade, he said he is glad to be reunited with defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
"Not to take anything away from the coordinators in Arizona, but it's different, a big difference," McFadden said. "It's like comparing Michael Jordan to Scottie Pippen. One guy is the top head, and that's how I feel about coach LeBeau."
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com.
Steelers re-acquire McFadden from Cardinals
Sunday, April 25, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
The Steelers brought back corner back Bryant McFadden.
Many expected the Steelers to accomplish two major roster changes over the past several days -- acquire a starting cornerback and pull off a trade.
They did both, at the same time. They did not peddle quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and they did not pick a cornerback high in the draft, but they did trade to get Bryant McFadden back from the Arizona Cardinals, and he is expected to reclaim his position at left cornerback for them after a one-year hiatus.
That trade, which involved them sending little more than trinkets and beads to the Cardinals, helped to boost a sagging secondary that received absolutely no help through 2 1/2 days of drafting.
"We jumped at it," said coach Mike Tomlin, delighted to add a veteran starting cornerback to his beleaguered secondary. "You know what you are getting."
On the third and final day of the NFL's longest draft, the Steelers added two more linebackers, another receiver who could become a return specialist, an offensive lineman, cornerback, the big running back they needed and a defensive lineman.
But the big catch of the day was McFadden, swapped back to the Steelers along with a sixth-round pick (No. 195) merely for a fifth-round pick (No. 155) from the Steelers. They say they had the deal in the works for a day or so, and that may be why the Steelers did not draft a cornerback higher than the fifth round.
They certainly did draft linebackers, adding three over the past two days -- two outside linebackers (Ohio State's Thaddeus Gibson joined second-round pick Jason Worilds) and one inside (Steven Sylvester of Utah). It prompted a joke from linebackers coach Keith Butler that, "Contrary to popular belief, I don't have any pictures of Mike Tomlin."
The most intriguing player Saturday for the Steelers came way down in the sixth round, where they grabbed Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer with the 188th overall pick. Dwyer is a big man at5-foot-11, 235 pounds with quickness and some eye-popping statistics -- 1,395 yards in each of the past two years. He is not considered a finished product for the NFL because he did not block nor catch much as he ran from a 3-point stance out of the wishbone-like option offense of the Yellow Jackets.
"It's going to be relearning for him," said Kirby Wilson, who coaches the Steelers' backs. "It's like getting back on a bicycle and starting all over again."
Dwyer thought Georgia Tech's style of offense might have affected his draft prospects. Although he technically "failed" a drug test at the combine, he was cleared because he takes medication for ADA, and that was known beforehand.
"I don't know what really hurt me, maybe the whole triple-option process," Dwyer said.
The Steelers drafted another wishbone back well into the draft 20 years ago when Barry Foster of Arkansas came to them in the fifth round.
All Foster did was set the Steelers' record with 1,690 yards rushing in 1992.
"Not often do you find 230-pound halfbacks with his ability with the ball in his hands," Wilson said.
Dwyer averaged more than 6 yards a carry at Georgia Tech.
"This kid's broken a lot of long runs," said Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations. "We think there's something there we all haven't seen yet."
The Steelers added another Tennessee offensive tackle in Chris Scott (fifth round), one year after former teammate Ramon Foster made it here as an undrafted rookie. The cornerback they waited so long to draft arrived on the fifth round as well in Crezdon Butler of Clemson, who has good size (5-11 1/2, 190) and speed (4.43) to make him intriguing. Central Michigan receiver Antonio Brown came on the sixth round and could challenge Stefan Logan as a return man.
The Steelers wound up drafting 10 players in three days and added two veterans in trades, McFadden and quarterback Byron Leftwich.
"I think when you throw in Bryant McFadden and Byron Leftwich, two players we were able to pick up using picks that we acquired this year, we really think this is a nice class and we're anxious to see them go to work," said Colbert, who will add five to seven rookie free agents to it.
Said Tomlin, "Quality depth and competition has been our mantra here for the offseason. We followed that plan in free agency and we were able to follow that plan here in the draft as well.
"We truly believe that we strengthened ourselves for the challenges that await us here in the 2010 season.
"It's going to be fun to watch these guys carve out roles for themselves along with some of the new veteran players that we acquired, and we're excited about it."
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on April 25, 2010 at 12:02 am
No comments:
Post a Comment