Good morning,
    We begin today with a statement and a follow-up question from a reader that flies against much of the sentiment that seems to be popular about the Steelers this season, that they will have a losing season.
    He writes:
I always love this time of the year when all the pundits are already predicting and practically crowning the next Super Bowl champion... It makes for good laughs.... and I get New England being a favorite year in and year out... They have a great QB and a great coach... usually enough to make a run. I'm also really trying to look at this realistically and do I like the Steelers chances to win it all this year... No, not by a long shot, but do I think they are contenders? Absolutely do - and I think I'm being objective here, after all, they do have Big Ben and Tomlin and LeBeau and Colbert. People are worried about Wallace being gone and Harrison.. ok - I get it... But those are the same Rethorics we hear every year. We heard them when Plax left, when Holmes was traded, when Porter left etc... I know the news is thin and they need to write about something... But common... You are as close to this team as anyone and you are arguably the most objective writer in sport... So please, do you think that the Steelers have enough to contend, and if you don't - please tell us why.
OK, my turn:
     Yes, I think they can contend because they have enough talent to contend, as they did last season when they were in the hunt right up until Ben Roethlisberger’s late interception in the 15th game against Cincinnati turned that playoff spot over to the Bengals.
       However, as we saw last season and has been true since the game of football was invented, injuries can trump all. A few key injuries can change the course of a contender, especially one that is not a dominant team, and I’m not sure there are any dominant teams anymore in the NFL.
   Look what happened to the Indianapolis Colts in 2011. The timing of injuries also can alter the path of teams. Obviously, no one needs injuries to some of their key players as they head toward the playoffs, as happened to the Steelers in 2011 both before and during their playoff game at Denver.
       Mike Tomlin’s “next man up” mantra was basically debunked in an indirect way by Dan Rooney when I interviewed him last month. It’s the correct approach by any coach, and we have seen it work in some cases (Charlie Batch playing for the injured Ben Roethlisberger in Baltimore last season, for example), but generally if you lose your best players, their backups will not be their equals.
       So, can the Steelers contend in 2013? Of course, Virginia. They will contend if Roethlisberger stays healthy and plays the way he did through the first nine games of last season. They can contend if Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley remain healthy, if Cortez Allen shows his coaches are right and he can fill the left cornerback spot capably. They can contend if the new offensive line lives up to its draft pedigree. They can contend if they find a good halfback in the draft, or if they sign Ahmad Bradshaw and he reverts to the pre-injured Bradshaw. They can contend if Heath Miller heals fast enough and well enough to return to his 2012 form. They can contend if Jason Worilds makes everyone forget James Harrison, and if Emmanuel Sanders can do the same in Mike Wallace’s spot. They can contend if Steve McLendon can endure something that he’s not used to enduring, playing 16 games as the starting nose tackle.
    There are many “ifs” there, but most teams have questions surrounding their lineups this time of year. The oddsmakers still have them among a handful of favorites in the AFC. There’s no reason to believe they won’t contend, but then, that can be said about at least half the teams in the NFL.
  --- In my list of top prospects in Sunday’s PG, I wrote that guard Larry Warford could be drafted higher than Dermontti Dawson, who as a second-rounder in 1988 “was Kentucky’s highest draft pick.’’ What I meant was that he was the highest offensive lineman drafted from Kentucky. There have been seven No. 1 picks from Kentucky, but no offensive lineman drafted higher than Dawson.
 --- Onto more of your questions:      
       --- YOU: Could the Steelers hypothetically agree to a deal but not conclude it until they get Colon's cap space?

ME: Yes, but nothing can be signed and gentlemen’s agreements sometimes aren’t worth the paper they’re not signed on.
 --- YOU: I see where James Harrison signed for two years with the Bengals. But have not seen what they paid him. Do you have any idea? Was it even in the ballpark to what the Steelers offered before they all got their nose in a twist and started pouting?
ME: No, I haven’t seen any numbers on that deal yet, but when I talked to some people in the media out there, they did not think it would come close to the $3.7 million the Steelers wanted him to take for 2013.
--- YOU: I would be disappointed with a first round pick spent on an outside linebacker. Why snub Harrison  and talk rhetoric about Worilds "chomping at the bit" if an outside linebacker is still what you really want? Not to mention your observations about the Steelers history drafting OLB's in the first round and the "reach" they would apparently be making with Jones. My own observation is that Steelers have their best luck when drafting the best player at his position. Alan Faneca, Troy, Heath, Pouncey. Rather than taking the third best linebacker or fourth best wide out, I say draft the best safety or tight end. Vaccaro from Texas or the Notre Dame tight end would likely be there on pick 17
ME: Rhetoric is just that. They wanted Harrison back, but when he declined what they believed was a fair offer – if an offer to cut one’s salary can be considered fair – they moved on. You are correct, their history of drafting outside linebackers is pathetic. However, maybe that means Bob Prince’s old “hidden vigorish” will come through for them this time and they will break out of their slump.
--- YOU: I should know better than to question you, but:
1. Didn’t Lamar Woodley start as a rookie?
2. Doesn’t Antonio Brown qualify as a WR who recently received a second contract without leaving in free agency?
ME: No to the first, and yes to the second, which obviously was overlooked by me.
--- YOU: With all their apparent needs, do you see the Steelers being extremely
proactive in signing undrafted free agents this year??
ME: I don’t think their approach will change any from years past. You’d like to think they always have been “proactive” in that area.

First Published: April 6, 2016, 4:15 p.m.