A week ago at this time, there was some panic among Steelers fans, particularly as free agent after free agent, particularly at inside linebacker, signed elsewhere for a big contract.
And when the team failed to sign defensive back Tyrann Mathieu following his release, the criticisms of the front office got even louder.
But after a two-day flurry in which the Steelers signed linebacker Jon Bostic and safety Morgan Burnett, both to team-friendly deals, things have calmed down. After all, it's hard to be upset when the Steelers just filled their two biggest needs. And it's hard to look at the team as it is currently constructed and not say the Steelers are a better team right now than the one they put on the field in January against Jacksonville in the AFC playoffs.
Burnett is an obvious upgrade from Mike Mitchell, while Bostic is inarguably the same for Sean Spence. And the draft is still yet to come.
The additions of Burnett and Bostic give the Steelers the ability to look at more positions than just inside linebacker and safety in the draft at the end of April. But those two positions will still be two the team addresses early in the draft.
Bostic is more like Vince Williams than he is Ryan Shazier. They're not going to ask him to cover a lot. That could be where Burnett comes into play. He not only played both safety spots, but slot corner and sub-package linebacker, as well.
So while, as Bostic said Monday, he is not here to replace Shazier, he and Burnett kind of are. But if the Steelers can find a linebacker in the draft who can cover as well as play the run, Bostic could find himself as the top backup at the position. And that also would lessen the need for the Steelers to use Burnett as a coverage linebacker in the Troy Polamalu role.
And if the Steelers can find a safety capable of doing some of those things, they could deploy Burnett differently, as well.
A lot of things still need to be settled. And we'll get an idea at the NFL meetings in Orlando that run Monday through Wednesday next week what the Steelers are thinking in terms of these two latest additions. That's when both Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin will be available.
Both men know, however, their job isn't yet done this offseason, even though the Steelers are better now than they were when the season ended.
• One Pittsburgh radio host, after the Steelers signed Burnett, actually still claimed Mathieu would have been a better signing for the Steelers. His argument was based on the fact he said he had seen Mathieu play and hadn't seen Burnett.
I don't typically listen to said show because of things exactly like this. That one nearly made me drive off the road.
First, how a person who purports to know something about the NFL claims to have not seen Burnett play is beyond me. After all, who's on national TV more, Green Bay or Arizona?
Second, had the Steelers signed Mathieu to the same one-year, $7 million deal he agreed to with Houston, they wouldn't have been able to acquire Bostic. In fact, they would have had to make a couple of corresponding moves to make that happen.
And finally, how exactly was the 5-9 (being generous), 186-pound Mathieu going to help the Steelers? He's a slot corner more than he is a free safety. And he's a guy whose injury history makes Burnett, who has had some issues in that department, as well, almost look like an iron man.
Mathieu had a really good year in 2015, and he has a cool nickname -- Honey Badger. But the Steelers got the player who better fits what they want to do with their defense.
Besides, they already have Mathieu on their roster. Only this version of him is named Mike Hilton.
• When I put together a list of possible replacements for Kevin Stallings a couple of weeks ago, I thought I was reasonably thorough in my research on the subject.
Seems that was the case. Pitt has already interviewed a couple of those candidates, Tom Crean and Thad Matta, and offered the job to another, Dan Hurley. It has even had a conversation with Sean Miller, though we don't know who approached whom.
There are still some good coaches on that list, including Nate Oats from Buffalo -- who would go on to beat Miller and Arizona in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament -- and Mark Schmidt of St. Bonaventure.
Those guys might not be sexy names for many fans, but either would be a solid replacement for Stallings in my book.
• The news over the weekend that eight of Pitt's current players had asked to be released from their scholarships was newsworthy but hardly a surprise.
Any new coach who comes in is going to want to clean house -- as Stallings did with many of the end-of-the-roster guys last year. And the new coach isn't going to want to be handcuffed with a bunch of players going into their sophomore season under scholarship. The new coach would probably yank several of those scholarships, wanting to bring in his own guys.
It's another of the seedy parts of college athletics. Coaches can pull scholarships on players just like they can take jobs elsewhere without remorse.
But if players want to leave, they have to sit out a year. If the NCAA made coaches sit out a year when they changed schools, it would make things a heck of a lot more interesting.
• One thing NFL owners will vote on next week will be fixing the catch rule. The recommendations are that it's a catch if the player shows control of the ball, gets two feet down or another body part or makes a football move such as a third step, reaching or extending for the line-to-gain, or shows the ability to perform such an act.
So, what Jesse James did last season against New England would be legal under these new rules, if passed. That should make you feel better, right?