Good morning,

We turn things over this morning to your questions:

--- YOU: After the way things played out with both Bruce Arians ("We'll just say you retired") and Dick LeBeau ("We'll just say you resigned"), do you think maybe it's time for the Steelers front office to stop playing games and just be honest about firing people when they decide it's time to fire them? I mean, it happens all the time in the NFL. Clearly, neither of those guys felt that the charade cushioned the blow for them, considering their public statements.

ED: I talked to LeBeau, as did Gerry Dulac, and he told both of us that he had resigned. It probably was a wording they agreed to after the Steelers told him they did not want him back. For whatever reason, Arians agreed to the “retirement” statement. The way the LeBeau departure happened was somewhat messy, the Arians one more so.

--- YOU: Ed's call - what do you do with the linebacker situation facing the Steelers - who do you resign, who do you let walk? What do you believe the Steelers will actually do?

ED: I would try to sign Jason Worilds to another contract, as well as Arthur Moats. If I could not come to terms with Worilds, I certainly would not tag him again and give him another $10 million. I would then turn to James Harrison and talk to him about returning for another year. I would shop for an outside linebacker in free agency and/or draft one. If, after all this, I did not feel comfortable with what I had, I would tell Lawrence Timmons he is now an outside linebacker and go with Ryan Shazier, Vince Williams and Sean Spence on the inside.

--- YOU: What to make of Deebo and TP's departing interview comments about some of the younger players needing to appreciate what it means to play and prepare the "Steelers way"? Is this a generational issue or are some of the up and coming stars not putting in the work and maintaining the disciplinbe required to be an elite athlete?

ED: It is one reason I would have had James Harrison back on the team last spring, to show the new kids on the block how things work. They have had more than talent drain the past two years, they have had work ethic drain and that is a big loss as well.

--- YOU: How many compensatory picks are expected to be due to the Steelers this year, and any thought as to where they might come? Seems like a year where the number of picks will be more important than most years--a lot of open roster spots available.

ED: It won’t be much, if at all. Remember, while they lost players such as Emmanuel Sanders, Jericho Cotchery, Larry Foote, Ziggy Hood and Jonathan Dwyer in free agency, they signed Mike Mitchell, Brice McCain, Arthur Moats, LeGarrette Blount, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Cam Thomas. LaMarr Woodley and Lance Moore do not count because they were released by the Steelers and Saints and were not true UFAs.

--- YOU: I really enjoy your chats and "Ask Ed" posts.....Why all the crazed talk of firing Tomlin and Colbert? People talk now as though Bill Cowher was the second coming of Vince Lombardi, but seem to forget that he lost several AFC championship games, and had a 3 year stretch of bad seasons.

ED: I believe they all are adrenaline junkies brought up on video games and instant gratification. They need the Steelers to fire people or sign the most expensive free agents or trade high in the first round in the draft to stoke their excitement. They would love being fans of the Denver Broncos, New York Jets or Buffalo Bills with all that news flying around those teams. All the Steelers had to offer them was a change in defensive coordinators for the first time in a dozen years.

--- YOU: Given Ike's size, speed (not what it was, but still good enough), and experience in the defense, would he be able to make the transition to safety a la Rod Woodson?

ED: I once thought that too, but as someone noted to me, corners such as Woodson, Ronnie Lott and Aeneas Williams – all Hall of Famers -- who made that move were ball-hawks. That is not how we would label Ike. They have their safety in Shamarko Thomas, sink or swim.

--- YOU: Do you think the defense performed better at the end of the year with Will Allen at safety instead of Polamalu? I

ED: Yes I did.

--- YOU: I feel at least one of many areas for the Steelers to be more successful on defense is they have to find more players in the mid to later rounds (not to discount early rounds of draft as well) and sign college and pro free agents who play better than anticipated. Brett Keisel , Aaron Smith, Travis Kirschke, James Harrison are examples. Are there any players recently signed to futures contracts who you feel can be those types of players? Maybe not necessarily start but can at least be good situational players and spot starters when someone is injured and play well enough there is no drop off in performance.

ED: If they or any other team thought these players they are signing now -- who had no contracts with other teams when the season ended -- had great potential, they would have been on someone’s roster. Those players you mention were draft picks except for Harrison and Kirschke, who became a starter with other teams before he joined the Steelers as a UFA. I’m not saying one of those cannot become a good player in the NFL, just that I cannot tell you who he might be.

--- You can send your questions to Ask Ed at ebouchette@post-gazette.com

First Published: April 6, 2016, 4:09 p.m.