Roster Cuts Finalized, Dixon May Be Done

Well, today a lot of men received some bad news: Their childhood dreams of being an NFL star are over. Not all of them, certainly, as we see gems pop up in waivers around the league, but it’s still a tough day in the NFL. A slew of trades occurred around the league, but only a few big names were moved

The Seahawks cut one Touraj Houshmandzadeh. I know he once seemed like Troy Polamalu’s evil AFC North counterpart, but I would be 100% in favor of him playing on my team. Besides, Ed Reed can still be the anti-Polamalu if he ever gets a new hip or whatever he keeps not playing football for.

Arizona also parted ways with Matt Leinart. Let’s be real for a minute, the Cardinals just lost their top two QBs from last season’s depth chart, leaving them with the [usually] hapless Derek Anderson as the starter. Suddenly, spending your first fantasy pick on Larry Fitzgerald looks like less of a brilliant move. Andre Johnson is clearly the better fantasy option at this stage, noob.

Over/under on Pete Caroll’s Seahawks signing Leinart? After all, they were together at USC and players move within their own divisions more often than anything it seems. Also, Pete Caroll probably still makes bad decisions at the NFL level. Like letting Whosyourmomma hit the open market. Something’s up with the blog at the moment, so just click the article title (or this link) to load all the juicy Steeler news in this post.

• C Justin Hartwig: Yikes. We all knew Pouncey would start Week 1, and it looks like management has gone ahead and made him our only option. Not like Hartwig was an awesome player, but it’s a little surreal to see the team cut him. To lose your starting spot to a rookie is one thing, but your job altogether?
• TE Eugene Bright: No idea who this guy is.
• OG Dorian Brooks: Not being a good enough guard to crack the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 53-man roster? Dude must only have one leg.
• OT Kyle Jolly: Another lineman gone.
• WR Brandon London: Never saw what this guy had, mostly due to playing the final two minutes in a bunch of preseason wins. He’ll probably turn up on the practice squad.
• TE Sean McHugh: McHugh has been a pretty steady fullback/H-back for the past couple of seasons in Pittsburgh. It was a little surprising to see him on the list of cuts, but with guys like David Johnson and Doug Legursky in the fold, Another fullback just isn’t worth the roster spot.
• DT Scott Paxson: Practice squad fodder.
• LS Matt Stewart: I remember he was signed a couple of weeks ago, indicating some dissatisfaction with Greg Warren (who is, by the way, a beast) but it looks like Matt Stewart had one of the shorter Steeler careers in recent memory.
• S Justin Thornton: Did this guy ever touch the field?
• RB Justin Vincent: Wasn’t gonna happen. Vincent was an adequate back that became a victim of numbers. Behind the established backs in Mendenhall and Moore, plus preseason hero Isaac Redman and draft pick Jon Dwyer, there just wasn’t room for another HB on the team. The Steelers will want to get him through waivers to the practice squad.
• LB Renauld Williams: If you wear #48 for the Steelers, you don’t usually survive the roster cuts.
• LB Patrick Bailey: Former special teams ace turned has-been backup LB (what a title). As I recall, he’s been taking summer courses as an engineering major or something crazy, so he’ll be all right if his football career is over.
• CB Joe Burnett: Dang. I was excited to see his development from one year to the next, but apparently Crezdon Butler has done enough to boot Burnett off the team. I’m hoping he makes the practice squad but I expect another team to snatch him up.
• S Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith: That “Cromartie” name only does so much for you.
• Tyler Grisham: I weep. Praying he clears waivers and the Steelers can keep him.
• DE Sonny Harris: Whatev.
• KR Stefan Logan: Antonio Brown just has more upside and versatility. The more you can do, the better (See: Doug Legursky) and Logan was a return specialist. And not one good enough to spend a roster spot on. Mark this down: Stefan Logan will score against the Steelers someday on a kick return.
• DT Steve McLendon: Another name we’ve all heard but really know nothing about. Practice squad, ahoy!
• FB Frank Summers: I know everyone liked that whole “Frank the Tank” nickname deal, but beyond a sweet power back nickname, did Summers ever show us anything that made him a must-keep? The team has lost less here than the general fanbase believes, I’m sure.
• G Kraig Urbik: That’s what you get for spelling your first name wrong. Again, it does not speak well of you if you aren’t good enough to back up the Steelers’ O-line. Third round draft pick: wasted.
• DT Doug Worthington: A bit of a surprise, considering how much everyone raved about him in camp. Camp and games are different though, and he rarely made his presence felt in a game situation.

In other news, there has been growing sentiment that Charlie Batch will start the season with Dixon seeing limited time in certain packages. This is not good news. I love Charlie Batch, and perhaps we as a fanbase have been unfair to him this offseason. He isn’t a bad player, despite two consecutive injury-shortened seasons. If he is at the helm come Week 1, I think the Steelers can do more than tread water.

Here’s the bad news: This makes Dixon effectively the fourth QB on the roster. The coaching staff really doesn’t seem to like him. He’s exciting and electric and the fans love him (By the way, people at the game on Thursday that cheered Leftwich’s injury? Go die in a fire.) but perhaps he isn’t playing quarterback the way he needs to. If you think his constant scrambling is what wins, ask yourself how many championships Randall Cunningham and Michael Vick have won. Hint: It is still less than Jeff Hostetler.

I don’t imagine the Steelers will sign another emergency QB (LOL LEINART IS OUT THERE LOL) but I do fully expect them to draft the backup of the future next April. The Dennis Dixon experiment may have failed in the eyes of the coaching staff. Not in the eyes of the fans, certainly, but we aren’t going to lose our jobs if this guy doesn’t read a defense properly. I’m still pulling for him, but if Batch is really our best option with the top 2 QBs out, it’s hard to really get behind the Dixon movement.

Tomorrow’s the last Sunday without football. Here We Go.