5 Pittsburgh Players That Steelers Fans Love To Hate

Although I am a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan, there have been players on the team that I myself have not exactly liked.

Over the years, players such as Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox have not been the most popular in Pittsburgh.

That does not mean I or Steelers fans do not root for these guys however, here are 5 current players that have not been on the good side of fans in Pittsburgh.

Antwaan Randle El

Last offseason when the Steelers first signed Antwaan Randle El, I thought it was good to have the receiver back in Pittsburgh.

Then the Steelers drafted 2 really good rookie receivers in Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown and I did not really see the need to have Randle El on the team anymore.

Most of us predicted that Randle El would lose his job to Sanders by the end of the season and we were right for the most part, relegating him to basically just going out there to fair catch punts.

I don’t know about anyone else however, by the end of the season I hated to see Randle El even touch the ball on offense and I’m hoping his involvement diminishes even more in 2011.

Limas Sweed

Limas Sweed was actually seen as a steal when the Steelers got him in the 2^nd round of the 2008 NFL draft.

His rookie year he seemed to have an ability to get open and has good size however, he could never seem to actually catch the ball.

That same problem of drops persisted in his second year in 2009 until Sweed was lost for the rest of season and then he missed the entirety of 2010 with an Achilles injury.

I have actually seen a bit of support for Sweed in the offseason, although if he cannot stop dropping passes he shouldn’t make the team this training camp.

Matt Spaeth

Matt Spaeth actually looked really good as a rookie until he missed some time with an injury and was never the same.

He had showed an ability to be a good redzone threat however, he has only 2 touchdowns since his rookie year in 2007.

The only reason he even saw extended time in 2010 was because of the fact that Heath Miller was injured for a few games.

Spaeth does not consistently catch the ball and isn’t exactly a mauler as a blocker either which has had most fans calling for him to not make the team for a while now.

Keenan Lewis

Keenan Lewis had a lot of expectations going into the 2010 season as most of us Steelers fans thought he would be given the chance to play more after an injury plagued rookie year.

After a less than stellar preseason however, Lewis never really saw the field in 2010 except on special teams, and even there he was more known for penalties called on him.

I myself still think Lewis can pan out as a corner for the Steelers however, this seems to be a make or break training camp for him and a lot of people seem to have given up on him already.

If he does not show some kind of improvement I see the coaches either converting Lewis to safety, or cutting him before the season.

William Gay

I was one of William Gay’s biggest supporters last offseason because I thought he would be a perfect fit for the Steelers as the third corner.

Then I watched him get burned by anything moving on the field and now I think his time as a Steeler should be over.

If the Steelers can resign Ike Taylor, the team has enough good young corner talent that I feel there should be no reason Gay returns this season.

Someone trying to defend Gay to me this offseason said Gay was good as long as he wasn’t going up against anyone with any speed or any size.

So as long as we find some short, slow receivers Gay should become a Hall of Famer for us.