The Holmes Trade Is a Bad Start to Next Season For The Steelers

In the ten seasons that Kevin Colbert has spent with the Steelers he has helped take the team to 4 Conference Championship games and won two Super Bowls. He has drafted players like Casey Hampton, Larry Foote, Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, LaMarr Woodley, and Rashard Mendenhall. And he has found players like Nate Washington, Willie Parker, Charlie Batch, James Farrior, Ryan Clark, and Tommy Maddox in free agency. Never in his tenure have I questioned his moves that he made to better the team. But the recent move to trade Santonio Holmes away is just disturbing.

This move is wrong for the Steelers on so many levels, and it starts with the draft. The rumors that the Steelers were looking at first-round talent in the draft over the last couple of weeks was a warning sign that they felt that Holmes wasn't going to around for long. The Steelers have many needs that could be addressed in the first round that didn't include the Wide Receiver position. Tackle, Guard, Center, Defensive End, Nose Tackle, Outside Linebacker, Cornerback, and Saftey were all positions where the Steelers were projected to spend their first round pick.

 Now if they select a Wide Receiver they would be ignoring the many other positions that are a need. If there was one part of the Steelers' game last year that was above the rest it was the passing game. But expecting the passing game to be as dominant this year is a far stretch. It is hard to see Ward sticking around long enough to groom another receiver like he did Holmes.

I don't argue that Mike Wallace is going to be a big part of this team for some time to come, but is he capable to line up outside. A similar comparison to Mike Wallace is Eddie Royal, who was expected to contribute last year after an outstanding rookie year but was average at best. This doesn't mean that Wallace won't be good next year, but could he match Holmes' ability and nose for the ball.

After Wallace there is a gray area for Pittsburgh at the Wide out position. Randle El was tried as a number 2 in Washington and didn't pan out which is why he is back in Pittsburgh. Battle has had some impressive seasons behind shakey QB play for the 49ers but his best years may be behind him. After Battle comes the magical mystery of Limas Sweed. Ideally this would be an opportunity for Sweed to step up and make an impact in the offense. But it will take a better Pre-Season than he had last year to see the field even if he lasts that long. If Sweed can actually catch a couple of passes this season it might boost his confidence and get him more reps, but his chances might equal the Pirates playoff chances.

 Any rookie would have to be as impressive as Wallace was last year to rise up the depth charts and small players like London, Grisham, and Cherry need to be amazing to even make the team. Their is a chance that Ward would retire after this year and if he dose the Steelers are in need in tallent that can help Ben to more Pro Bowl years down the road. I understand the image conflicts and all the bad press the Steelers got from Holmes, but is it worth risking your playoff chances.

To me this seems like a move the Steelers made out of anger and disgust. Between Ben and Holmes the Steelers were a media wreck in the past month and wanted to improve their image. Maybe waiting to the draft to trade Holmes to a team that didn't get the big receiver that they wanted or in pre-season where a desperate team might pay more would have been a better outlet to dump Holmes. Even if Dez Bryant drops to the Steelers he already has reputation issues to begin with and could turn out like Holmes.

I hope that the Steelers can find a player in the first round that can help their team this season and put them back in playoff contention, but when their pick comes up next week, I'll be rooting against a Wide Receiver pick.