Steelers Tighten Up Loose Ends Before Camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting ready to "shove off" on yet another training camp at St. Vincent's College in Latrobe, PA, and the Steelers are tightening up their loose ends before camp officially begins.  Yesterday, the Steelers came to terms with their final draft pick (Guard - David DeCastro), and signed up to the typical 4 year contract with a club option for a 5th year.  That is good news as the Steelers are banking on this rookie from Stanford to start for them come opening day.  With those high expectations there is no way they could have gone without him for an extended period of time.  I know that fellow BNGBlitz contributor, Mason Noland, will be writing a piece regarding the Steelers offensive line sometime today. 

The bigger news, in my humble opinion, is that the Steelers have recently extended Head Coach Mike Tomlin's contract for 3 years extending him till the 2016 season.  My first reaction was: ABOUT TIME!  This man has done nothing but great things with this team since he arrived.  He has made the playoffs every year except one, been to 2 Superbowls, and won 1.  There are some coaches that can't say that after 15 years.  Some Steelers fans still pine for "the Chin" (Bill Cowher), but look at what I just wrote.  Cowher made it to 2 Superbowls, and won 1....all of that was accomplished over 14 seasons for Cowher compared to just 5 for Tomlin.  Some will bring up division crowns, but lets face it, when it comes to the Steelers isn't Superbowl Championships all that matter?  Thats all that matters to me at least. 

With these loose ends being taken care of, it only leads to one big loose end still dangling...Mike Wallace.  Both sides have reported that the deal is being sculpted, but there has been no deal completed and camp starts tomorrow (Wednesday).  The biggest questions for me as a fan are: How Much (Money)? How Long (Duration of contract)? and How Soon (How much time will he miss)?  Would I expect a deal Tuesday evening?  No.  I would expect a deal later in the week and then the Steelers would only have to worry about one thing...Football.  At least with the team signing their 1st round draft pick, and extending the contract on their coach they won't have anything to worry about except signing Wallace and getting geared up for a successful 2012 season.  Lets hope the Steelers management can get it done so we can stop talking about money, and more about football!!