50-YARD LINE

     Yesterday, your Pittsburgh Steelers made news as they signed OLB James Harrison to a 2 year deal, bringing back the former Defensive Player of the Year for another go-round. Mrs. Black-N-Gold feels the move smacks of desperation on the Steelers part. But what else could they do? They are stuck between a rock and a hard place due to the sudden "retirement" of free agent Jason Worilds and the lack of impact from first round pick Jarvis Jones.

      Clearly Deebo's best days are behind him. He'll be 37 years old at the start of the season, no spring chicken for an outside linebacker, especially in a 3-4 defense that relies heavily on pressure from the outside. Brought out of retirement last season to help with the depleted linebacking corps, Harrison played in only 11 games. He had his moments but finished with only 5.5 sacks and 29 total tackles in a limited role. The strip/sack used to be #92's calling card but no more. He forced no turnovers last season.

     Harrison just made the announcement over the weekend that he would make a decision on returning to Pittsburgh or following Dick LeBeau to Tennessee. He must have made up his mind quickly as the signing was made public less than 24 hours later.

     Harrison may still be able to contribute to the defense in a part time role. And, who knows, perhaps he can help light a fire under some of the young guys, notably Jones and another first rounder, Ryan Shazier. The problem is, the Steelers are forced to continue to put their eggs in the greybeard's basket. The Steelers have no one to blame for their desperation moves but themselves.

     Although the current regime of GM Kevin Colbert and Coach Mike Tomlin have found some gems in the draft such as WR Antonio Brown and RB Le'Veon Bell, they have left the defensive cupboard mostly bare. Ziggy Hood (1st round pick), Alamada Ta'amu (4th) , Thaddeus Gibson (4th) and Bruce Davis (3rd) are just some of the many examples of defensive misses in the draft for the Steelers. Not to mention a 2nd round pick on Worilds. It seems that when Worlids didn't break the bank as expected on the open market, he decided to suddenly "retire". This, even though the Steelers were willing to bring him and his measly 7.5 sacks back on a long-term deal. See how desperate the Steelers have become for some D?

     Before this May's draft, the Steelers personal department and coaching staff may want to take a long, hard look at how they are evaluating and developing players. Jones is a shining example of this. True he has been injured more often than not (another red flag). However, when he is on the field, he rarely contributes to the defense. Shazier is in danger of suffering from the same affliction. Although he will get a bit of a pass considering last year was just his rookie season.

     In other words, the Steelers need to fix the D with more than duct tape in the form of Harrison and a prayer in the form of this year's draft. As always, Mrs. Black-N-Gold says "put the "D" back in the defense". Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!