Brief and to the Point ...
Topic No. 1 as it relates to the Steelers' drafting in recent years: Will they take a corner?
Topic No. 2 as it relates to the Steelers' drafting for decades now: Who's in charge?
Yes, the latter one's been asked. And yes, it's been answered by both Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert, to varying degrees of satisfaction from the fan base, who'd love nothing more than to have a single figure to blame -- and hey, maybe occasionally praise -- for their critically important work in procuring amateur talent.
But I thought I'd try yet again Monday at the Tomlin-Colbert press conference on the South Side, and I'm happy to say both men boomed it out of the park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhKxbJ9t7tE
I don't have much to add to this. Honestly, I just wanted to call attention to maybe the most fascinating relationship in our city's sports scene, completely and demonstrably selfless and ego-free. Regardless of how you view their respective decisions at times, this just has to be impressive.
A football coach must be in charge. His position doesn't compare to his peers in the NHL or Major League Baseball. Football is so scripted, so skill-specific at every X and every O, that he's got to get his type of player to be able to do his job. But he's also got to be mindful and respectful of those who spend the entire year traveling and studying to find the top talent that best suits the coach's vision.
"A Steeler pick" is what Colbert calls the team's picks. Not a Tomlin pick. Not a Colbert pick.
So be sure you credit that properly Thursday night when they take that corner.
• They're not taking a corner.
No, really, they're not. This stuff about how Senquez Golson will be considered to be "part of this draft class" because the 2015 second-rounder missed all of 2015, that sounded like a preemptive strike. And that's to say nothing of the almost uncomfortable praise for Ross Cockrell.
Tomlin and Colbert sent signal after signal that they want to get after the quarterback. Some teams do that through exemplary coverage and, thus, coverage sacks. The Steelers do that by chewing metal. They'll add another defensive lineman, and they'll do it in a draft filled with defensive linemen, and they'll feel zero regret.
• Or it'll be yet another edge rusher.
The decision to wait till the last minute on Jarvis Jones -- he has to be tendered by early next week and, if he is, a second year is triggered, too -- is about as glaring a sign as could be had that they'll consider linebacker options in the draft, then make up their minds.
And if that isn't enough, Colbert practically said so. Asked specifically about Jones, he replied this way: "We won’t talk about specific contract-type issues. I think it’s safe to say that once we get through the draft, it will affect how we do business with our veteran players."
• Wait, an appeals court reinstated Tom Brady's four-game Deflategate suspension?
This went to an appeals court?
My goodness, if this makes it to the Supreme Court, the Founding Fathers will be resurrected to just start all over.
• I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one here or anywhere else. But if Marc-Andre Fleury is saying publicly -- as he did in the below exchange with our Josh Yohe -- that he's still experiencing concussion symptoms, then what in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is he doing participating in practices?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnHI8AHdY90
I'm not even asking from a health or human perspective but from a hockey one.
The Penguins have two healthy, capable goaltenders in Matt Murray and Jeff Zatkoff. Neither they nor Fleury need for Fleury to be out there, risking another setback. And another is the operative term, given that he already had one in the first round, as Mike Sullivan acknowledged in New York.
You don't need to be a doctor to diagnose something as being dumb.
• This space hasn't exactly overflowed with praise for Mike Johnston, at least not beyond his first couple months as head coach. But give the man a tap of the stick for this much: The Penguins' penalty-killing was every bit as good under him as it's been under Sullivan, and the participants themselves will attest that the strategy is essentially the same.
• In five meetings between the Penguins and Capitals this regular season, 50-goal gunner Alexander Ovechkin had zero goals and zero assists. Ben Lovejoy and Ian Cole, who are now by coincidence a pairing, took turns driving him nuts in those games. I'll be deeply disappointed if Sullivan opts to get excessively creative with this matchup.
Here's another key: On the power play this season, Ovechkin had 21 goals and six assists. So let him pass all he wants.
• Ever seen the Capitals and the Bengals in the same place?
Thought not!
• Jim Rutherford's best move since coming to the Penguins?
How about refusing to trade Matt Murray despite voluminous offers at the trade deadline?
Nah. It's still Trevor Daley for Rob Scuderi, but I tried.
• The Islanders were rewarded for their flagrant throwing of their regular-season finale with Philadelphia, a game in which they barely wiggled their sticks -- seriously, it was farcical, including a dozen healthy scratches -- to ensure they'd match up with the Panthers in the first round. Well, Garth Snow and Jack Capuano got their wish, and their team dispatched a still-too-green Florida team, and they now get the damaged Lightning next.
Way to go, gentlemen.
And no, I don't mean the Islanders. I mean the NHL, which concocted these wacky brackets that allow teams to leap over to the other, softer side by doing exactly what the Islanders were smart to do.
Go No. 1 vs. No. 8, for crying out loud. Better yet, re-seed after each round.
• Jonathan Toews, celebrated leader of men, saw his Blackhawks eliminated Monday night in St. Louis. He went without a goal in all seven games. No crime there. He's a truly great player. He had a rough round. But here's guessing that the next person anywhere questioning anything about his intangibles will be the first.
• So this popped up on the Mets' Twitter feed Monday night:
#MetsWIN! 5-3 #Mets @NeilWalker18 crushes a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 7th to seal this one. #LoveTheMetshttps://t.co/F9od6tTnSG
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 26, 2016