Football

By Mark Kaboly, McKeesport Daily NewsEven when Marcus Gilbert found out that he was getting moved to right tackle last year, he always held out hope that he would eventually ...

The Steelers were killing two birds with one stone at the final practice of the first OTA session Thursday. To recap, the Steelers had previously signed sixth round pick Vince Williams and fourth round pick Shamarko Thomas. Thursday, they added third round WR Markus Wheaton to that list, as well as fifth-round CB Terry Hawthorne and sixth-round WR Justin Brown. Still left to be signed, first-round OLB Jarvis Jones, second-round RB Le'Veon Bell and QB Landry Jones. Landry and Jarvis are not related. Players disperse after camp for a bit, only to return after the holiday weekend. Perhaps there will be some movement by that time on the remaining picks, but none are expected to hold out - mostly because they aren't allowed to per the CBA signed in 2011. For all the news and features on Behind The Steel Curtain from this OTA session and what to look for in the next one, click here. Follow @NealCoolong

Young quarterbacks set the NFL on fire last season, but they still have to win over a few skeptics. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is one of them.

The San Francisco 49ers made two more rookie contracts official, announcing that DL Cornellius Carradine and TE Vance McDonald signed their four year contracts. Adam Caplan reported the Carradine signing earlier this afternoon, while the 49ers broke the Vance McDonald news. The McDonald contract is likely worth approximately $3.6 million overall, and will include a signing bonus just a shade under $1 million. This leaves the 49ers with only Eric Reid, Corey Lemonier and Marcus Lattimore unsigned. More McDonald: Scouting report Off the field Medical report Press conference transcript McDonald will be competing against Garrett Celek and Cameron Morrah to fill the role left vacant by the departure of Delanie Walker. This was already an important role in the 49ers offense, and it becomes that much more important with the loss of Michael Crabtree. The 49ers will need to find offense wherever they can get it, and the second tight end will see plenty of playing time. McDonald has experience playing out of a variety of spots on and off the line, so his versatility will come in handy. He will need to show blocking skills, in part because it is an important aspect of the tight end role, but also more so with the loss of Crabtree, who is a phenomenal blocker. The wide receivers are going to be expected to step up this year, but McDonald will get his own opportunity to be a big contributor.

Hollywood action star and martial arts icon Chuck Norris has written a 1,463 word column, published on WND.com, about Tim Tebow, describing the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback as an "Ultimate Clutch Player." read more

Recently retired former Chicago Bear linebacker, Brian Urlacher, gave tremendous praise to retired Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis today when he stated: “If I am lucky enough to go in [to Canton] with Ray, I will say this: I think I am pretty good, but Ray is the best of all time,” (via NFL Total Access) This is quite the extraordinary compliment from Brian Urlacher. While pretty much everyone in Baltimore thinks that Ray Lewis is the best of all-time already, it is always good to hear others say the same thing; especially a guy as talented as Brian Urlacher. It's truly amazing to see the amount of respect that Ray continues to get. Here's to hoping we all get the pleasure of seeing Ray Lewis inducted into Canton five years from now!

The Steelers have signed the first of their two sixth-round selections of the 2013 NFL Draft, wide receiver Justin Brown. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed. Brown (6-3, 209),...... Source: Pittsburgh Steelers : News The post Steelers Sign Sixth-Round Pick Justin Brown appeared first on Pittsburgh Steelers Blog - NFL - PlanetSteelers.com.

My fellow Giants fans worldwide, I have returned from my travels and I am here to comment on the state of our New York Giants. And I say that we are strong. Strong, and we are getting stronger. Why do I make such a bold statement? Because I am drunk. Drunk on that sweet, sweet nectar of ocean blue KoolAid, no doubt spiked with a "not so little" amount of rum. It is May, and we are dragging our feet through the swamp of the offseason. This is the time when every undrafted FA signing is big, where each time an unknown catches a pass in a rather meaningless, padless OTA is the next Victor Cruz. Yes, my friends, it is May. That means that what we think now is assuredly going to be wrong. There will be triumphs and tribulations. So all of this hand-wringing and prediction making is more or less useless. But hey, it is what it is. For me, this means that nothing can stop me from looking at a 16-0 season. Nothing. It's May, what is there to lose? The homer in me is in full bloom. I know that this is likely to not be the case, and there will be troubles, but let's be honest here, we've got enough things to worry about as it is. So drink up, there's enough kool-aid for everyone! DRAFT REVIEW Every year, I do a draft review. A little late this year, but I figured I'd just add it right into the SOTU. Round: 1 Pick: OT Justin Pugh My Grade: C+ How He Fits: I gave this a grade of C+, but consider that I'm grading on a scale where a C is average. So this, for me was an above average pick, but only slightly. I do believe from a pure value standpoint, this is a reach. I had graded Pugh in my final big board as a projected mid 2nd round selection. I don't like reaches. He doesn't make terrible sense in terms of a financial standpoint. RTs don't make that much money. So my first reaction was to be puzzled. However, this selection definitely grew on me. Pugh is probably the 3rd most gifted pass protector in this draft, nipping at the heels of Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher. The one thing that Eli Manning desperately needs on the right side is pass protection. And yes, I project him to be our RT. More on that later. Pugh is also a decent enough run blocker. Check out Nfpdawg's awesome highlight video on him to check out some of the blocks he can dish out. I'm honestly not too worried about his run blocking. David Wilson does an uncanny job of squeezing into the tiniest of windows. Finally, Pugh has that versatility the Giants crave. C, G, T, you name it, he can play it. That will save the Giants both money and roster spots in terms of finding utility linemen. Also, consider this: Pugh is a bit of a finesse lineman. He uses opponent power and momentum to redirect them as opposed to imposing his own will on the defenders. The upside to that? He's going to be quite fresh in the 4th quarter. He'll be playing at a high level because he'll be playing efficiently, and that can only help burgeon Eli's capability to perform heroics at that stage. Round: 2 Pick: DT Jonathan Hankins My Grade: B How He Fits: Big Hank was a nice pick. Another need pick to be sure, but this time the value was right there. The Giants have made sort of a habit of selecting defensive tackles in the 2nd round with mixed results. But Hankins looks like a good one to be sure. He's a powerful, powerful man that can anchor. Probably only he and Mike Patterson are the only good anchors on this team. He'll play 1 tech and can slide into the nose or even 5 tech (played all 3 at OSU) in certain schemes. He's a space eater and a two gapper. He's a pure run stopper with the upside to give you something in the pass rush. His first step is very quick for a man his size, and it allows him to win the leverage battle quite easily. He's an instant upgrade at the backup 1 tech spot and will allow Joseph to take some plays off. That's huge for a team that was beyond awful in run defense. Hankins is, as Reese said, someone who "enjoys doing the dirty work." In my opini

Young quarterbacks might have set the league on fire last season, but they still have to win over a few skeptics. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is one of them.

Robert Griffin III’s presence at Redskins OTA is encouraging not only for the QB, but also the entire team. Mike Florio says to not put too much stock in RGIII’s return until he can run and cut like a mobile QB should. More...