Will the Steelers make another move ?

[Pabst]

Didn’t he end up playing pretty good in BUF?

Or am I confusing him with the other ILB that went to the Raiders?

He was a ST Captain in Buffalo for the last few seasons. I'm sure this is purely a depth/ST signing since the 2 primary backups at ILB are injuries waiting to happen.

You're thinking of Spillane, who was himself pretty damn good in Oakland.

[Orangesteel]

Ah yes Roberto Spillane.

[Pabst]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

[anpsteel]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

I’m of the opinion that Robinson doesn’t make the roster this season

[Ice]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

Tomlin's Trusted Veteran Syndrome way too often reminds me of (post Cup run) Bylsma and (post Cup runs) Sullivan's TVS. Just rather have STs be populated by younger players with upside. Not a commentary on the ILB position group or even a specific knock on the old ginger, just a general gripe on roster structure philosophy.

[Pabst]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

Tomlin's Trusted Veteran Syndrome way too often reminds me of (post Cup run) Bylsma and (post Cup runs) Sullivan's TVS. Just rather have STs be populated by younger players with upside. Not a commentary on the ILB position group or even a specific knock on the old ginger, just a general gripe on roster structure philosophy.

Definitely hear you, but I just think this is more myth than reality. Even then, I'm not sure the concern is warranted here since the LB group is, overall, very young.

Don't get me started on Sully.....

[Ice]

I mean, we've got umpteen pages of discussion on all of Diontae Johnson's drops and how much he ran backwards... maybe Tomlin's TVS is just my pet peeve myth

As for late-stage Bylsma, Sullivan and Tomlin, it's all just symptoms of holding on to a coach too long. Organizations in love with nostalgia lead to coaches in love with nostalgia, or ones that have fallen out of love with the idea of teaching the game to a young player rather than signing an old one who's easy and familiar.

[DP39]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

Tomlin's Trusted Veteran Syndrome way too often reminds me of (post Cup run) Bylsma and (post Cup runs) Sullivan's TVS. Just rather have STs be populated by younger players with upside. Not a commentary on the ILB position group or even a specific knock on the old ginger, just a general gripe on roster structure philosophy.

With the new KO rule , maybe ol' Danny Boy desires more smarts to go with the younger hearts out there on the field -- we know our ST ace, Killebrew, has both. Maybe they wanted to add more to that column in the ledger? And, as Pabst states, for now he's nice injury insurance at ILB 4/5. A proven ST captain/ace at a vet minimum price; what's not to like.

[Deebo]

I mean, we've got umpteen pages of discussion on all of Diontae Johnson's drops and how much he ran backwards... maybe Tomlin's TVS is just my pet peeve myth

As for late-stage Bylsma, Sullivan and Tomlin, it's all just symptoms of holding on to a coach too long. Organizations in love with nostalgia lead to coaches in love with nostalgia, or ones that have fallen out of love with the idea of teaching the game to a young player rather than signing an old one who's easy and familiar.

Is there something in the drinking water that aggrandizes Pittsburgh sports coaches? Fans slurp up the coaching Kool Aid at every turn.

[bradshaw2ben]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

Matakevich is not, never has been, and never should be thought of as capable of playing on defense.

IIRC, he played in Goal Line for something like 10 snaps one year and gave up 4 TDs. He blows. There are at least 10 guys better and available from the UFL.

I've said it a million times: if you are rostering strictly STs vets and you're not a Super Bowl contender, you are literally cockblocking your young talent. Letting them play and succeed and shine on STs is how you find James Harrison and Donnie Shell.

[Ice]

Stated better than I did, B2B.

[Pabst]

Matakevich is not, never has been, and never should be thought of as capable of playing on defense.

IIRC, he played in Goal Line for something like 10 snaps one year and gave up 4 TDs. He blows. There are at least 10 guys better and available from the UFL.

I've said it a million times: if you are rostering strictly STs vets and you're not a Super Bowl contender, you are literally cockblocking your young talent. Letting them play and succeed and shine on STs is how you find James Harrison and Donnie Shell.

Again, this is probably insurance with 2 chronically injured ILBs on the roster. I just think we're reading way too much into this.

[Steel Bingo]

Subtraction through addition with Red?

If this boots a player that was not ever going to develop off the roster while upgrading special teams I'm all for it.

[RemoAZ]

Old, trusted vet for special teams/bottom of the roster duty. I'd really prefer if these positions could be manned by young, hungry, up and coming players, but we do what we do.

They already have Peyton Wilson and Mark Robinson, plus their #1 guy at the position is only 25.

Matakavich is, at best, insurance in case Holcomb doesn't recover or if Robinson doesn't continue to develop. Doesn't hurt to have a familiar face around

Matakevich is not, never has been, and never should be thought of as capable of playing on defense.

IIRC, he played in Goal Line for something like 10 snaps one year and gave up 4 TDs. He blows. There are at least 10 guys better and available from the UFL.

I've said it a million times: if you are rostering strictly STs vets and you're not a Super Bowl contender, you are literally cockblocking your young talent. Letting them play and succeed and shine on STs is how you find James Harrison and Donnie Shell.

This coach only wants to win the next game. Getting a guy good on STs may help win a game this season, especially with the new kickoff rules but it does nothing to move the needle back to championship contender. That's the message this whole off season has been to me. I can't wait until they dump a bunch of picks for a WR in the drive to go 9-8.

[steelmann58]

Good move great ST guy. I am thinking that they will go into camp with the group of WR early and then move on with Aiyuk or Adams.

[PennyBacker]

Matakevich was not ever much of a base defense or even sub-package linebacker. If the result of this is one less body in front of Payton Wilson getting his reps to become a stat sheet stuffing machine, great!