The popularity of the NFL draft amongst fans has propelled several members of the media to ask me if the draft is over-hyped. My response is that while the draft is over-hyped and analyzed by unqualified amateurs who just study a bunch of names and information, the actual scouting and execution of the draft process is the lifeblood of the organization. It's the ultimate deciding factor of the teams' future success or failure.

Decisions made on draft day not only affect your team but other teams around the league. In 1974, the Pittsburgh Steelers had perhaps the best draft in the history of the league. All Pittsburgh did was pick and sign four Hall of Famers and it took only four picks for them to do it. Most of the credit for that draft goes to Art Rooney Jr, player personnel director Dick Haley and scouts Bill Nunn and Tim Rooney.

A lot of credit goes to head coach Chuck Noll who was wise enough to listen to his scouts instead of letting his ego get into the way. Two years earlier, Noll listened as Art Rooney Jr. made a pitch to draft running back Franco Harris out of Penn State over Robert Newhouse of Houston, whom Noll preferred.

The Steelers first-rounder in '74 was Southern Cal wide receiver Lynn Swann. In the second round, many in the league thought the Steelers reached for Kent St. linebacker Jack Lambert. The Steelers were without a third-round pick as a result of a trade with the Raiders. So, with their fourth-round selection, they took a wide receiver out of Alabama A&M by the name of John Stallworth. Steelers scout Bill Nunn faked an illness and stayed in Normal, Ala., after other scouts left thinking that Stallworth was a step slow. After re-timing Stallworth, Nunn was so convinced of his ability that he held on to the only game film available to prevent other scouts from forming a similar opinion before the draft.

With the fifth-round selection, they took Wisconsin's 232-pound center Mike Webster. While other teams felt he was too light, it was the Steelers who knew best what a weight-room warrior Webster was and thus his potential to add weight to his frame.

Combined with astute picks in previous years such as Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Gerry Mullins, Dwight White, Ernie Holmes, Larry Brown, Mike Wagner, J.T. Thomas and the aforementioned Franco Harris, the class of 1974 provided the nucleus of four Super Bowl championships.

The San Francisco 49ers draft of 1986 was also an outstanding one that set the table for several Super Bowl runs. Head coach Bill Walsh, who ran the draft for the Niners, continued to trade down and collect extra picks. With their first pick in the second round, they drafted DE Larry Roberts of Alabama. Their third-round picks were Nebraska FB Tom Rathman, Texas-Arlington CB Tim McKyer and Delaware State wide receiver John Taylor. In the fourth round, they drafted DE Charles Haley from James Madison, OT Steve Wallace from Auburn and DT Kevin Fagan from Miami. In the sixth round, they tabbed Don Griffin, cornerback from Middle Tennessee St..

The year prior, Walsh and the Niners drafted a receiver in the first round out of Mississippi Valley St. by the name of Jerry Rice. The 1983 draft found them Roger Craig in the second round and OG Jesse Sapulu in the 11th round.

The year the Eagles drafted quarterback Donovan McNabb, their fans attending the draft booed him, as they wanted the club to take Texas running back Ricky Williams.

In the same draft, Colts GM Bill Polian was criticized for taking Edgerrin James over Williams.

Draft Day is also a day of mistakes and missed opportunities. Mistakes are made when you reach for a need or second-guess yourself. Back in 1979, the Green Bay Packers' scouts wanted to take a particular quarterback in the third round. Bart Starr, who was then not only the head coach but the general manager, did not feel comfortable with the player and instead opted for DT Charles Johnson of Maryland, who had a decent but far from great career. The quarterback the Packers' scouts liked so much was Joe Montana of Notre Dame, who became the 49ers' third-round pick.

Two years later in 1981, Starr felt he had to get a quarterback and insisted on taking Cal quarterback Rich Campbell ignoring his scouting staff's wishes to take USC safety Ronnie Lott.

In 1989, Packers GM Tom Braatz and head coach Lindy Infante probably lost their jobs due to the fact that they bypassed Barry Sanders for Tony Mandarich.

In 1980, the Jets traded up to take Texas WR-RB-KR Johnny "Lam" Jones with the second pick in the draft. But Jones was not the Jets second-rated player. They had Billy Sims, Anthony Munoz and Bruce Clark rated above him, and rated Mark Haynes with an identical grade. But Munoz and Clark were off the board for medical reasons and the Lions took Sims with the first pick. They passed over Haynes for Jones.

In 1982, Colts GM Ernie Accorsi drafted Ohio State quarterback Art Schlister, passing over Marcus Allen and Mike Munchak, two future Hall of Famers.

In 1979, the Bills selected LB Tom Cousineau, who elected to sign a CFL offer. When he returned to the league, the Bills traded his rights to the Browns for three draft picks, one of which was a 1983 first-round pick used to take quarterback Jim Kelley. Ironically, Kelly was the Bills second first-round pick. Their first was tight end Tony Hunter of Notre Dame, who was dubbed the next Kellen Winslow. Hunter never pushed himself and never developed while Jim Kelly's story is well documented. In the same 1983 draft the Rams were debating whether to stay in their draft position and take Hunter or trade up and grab running back Eric Dickerson.

Also in 1979, George Young was in his first draft as GM of the Giants. He and head coach Ray Perkins went against the grain and selected quarterback Phil Simms over Jack Thompson and Steve Fuller, whom most thought were the top two quarterbacks.

In the same draft, a lot of teams were scared off by some off the field issues surrounding Mark Gastineau. An up and down player on and off the field led to his leaving Arizona State for East Central St. (Okla.). The Jets pulled the trigger in round two and got themselves a premiere pass rusher.

In 1985, Chargers coach Don Coryell was campaigning for Miami WR Eddie Brown but Ron Nay, who was running the draft, opted for Jim Lachey who went on to have an outstanding career.

In 1971, the Bengals needed a quarterback and were set to take Joe Theisman until quarterbacks coach Bill Walsh went to tiny Augustana College to work out Ken Anderson.

In 1972, the Raiders punting game killed them so Al Davis did the unthinkable, drafting a punter in the first round. Former Southern Miss punter Ray Guy belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Scouting is a lot of hard work, intelligence, experience, dedication and good intuition. It's not an exact science but rather an art. I put a lot of stock on character, stability and ability. I want self starters. To be successful in the football business, you cannot be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes will be made anytime you have human beings evaluating other human beings.

It's been a big week for the Steelers throwing out the first pitch at baseball games.

 

Running back Willie Parker threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Pirates game and received a warm welcome from the crowd.

"There's a lot of love here," said Parker.

 

Jerome Bettis threw out the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers home opener earlier in the week.

 

Electronic Arts announced today that World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Bill Cowher will be on the cover of NFL Head Coach, available in stores June 20, under the EA SPORTS brand. NFL Head Coach is in development at EA Tiburon, EA's studio responsible for other NFL videogame franchises including: Madden NFL Football and NFL STREET. This is the first-ever 3D sports strategy game where you can experience the emotional rollercoaster of coaching with the most true-to-life and authentic sports strategy game ever created.

Cowher, the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL, is fresh off his first Super Bowl title with a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL in Detroit. In 14 seasons under the leadership of Cowher, the Steelers have earned 10 postseason berths, captured nine division titles, advanced to six AFC Championship games and have made two Super Bowl appearances. The Pittsburgh-area native is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least eight division titles and ranks ninth in NFL history for longest head coaching service with one team.

"With NFL Head Coach there is finally a game that gives true football fans the chance to strategize and become the head coach of their favorite team," said Cowher. "Coaching is about leadership and everyone will now see how difficult, but also how rewarding coaching can be."

NFL Head Coach challenges gamers to build and manage every aspect of a football team from the ground up. A simple conversation system and an engaging graphical interface allow users to immerse themselves into the lives of an NFL head coach. As head coach, you develop a team strategy, execute it on and off the field, and try to build a winning organization year after year. Your status as a coaching legend will rise and fall based on all of your actions as you strive to become the greatest head coach of all time.

NFL Head Coach will be available for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox videogame system from Microsoft, and PC-CD. This product is not yet rated by the ESRB.

 

The defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Appleton East graduate Erik Jensen to a two-year contract. Financial terms weren't released.

Jensen was on the Steelers practice squad for the last two games of the 2005 regular season and all four playoff games, including Pittsburgh's 21-10 win over Seattle in Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5.

"I'm excited, because the deal means I get an opportunity to go to the Steelers training camp and off-season workouts with them to try to make the team," Jensen said Sunday night from Iowa, where he's training.

"They let me know the day before I was supposed to leave for NFL Europe. I'm happy the Steelers are giving me this chance and I get to stay here."

Jensen, a 6-foot-2, 253-pounder who played at the University of Iowa, said the Steelers will give him a look at tight end and fullback.

At 32, Ty Law could be ready to make a position switch similar to the one Rod Woodson made to prolong his career.

The New York Jets released Aliquippa native Ty Law Wednesday as part of a salary cap purge.

That was the bad news for Law.

The good news is that even at 32, the 11-year NFL veteran has some options, one of which could prolong his career another three or four seasons.

Just as Rod Woodson did after leaving the Steelers, Law should be convinced that the best way to play another three or four seasons and assure his status as an NFL Hall of Fame player would be to shift from cornerback to free safety.

Though his coverage skills are slipping, Law showed in 2005 that he is still a ballhawk by recording a career-high 10 interceptions, giving him 46 for his career.

Where would Law end up as a free safety?

The Pittsburgh Steelers would certainly be interested, especially considering their own starting free safety, Chris Hope, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next week.

Law signed with the Jets last year after visiting with the Steelers, a move that could lay some of the groundwork for the Western Pennsylvania native to come home. He knows the Steelers, they know him.

If he wants to take a couple of more runs at the Super Bowl – he already owns three Super Bowl rings from his days with New England – Pittsburgh would be the place to do it.

The heady days of the Pittsburgh Steelers' fifth Super Bowl title are coming to an end and reality is setting in. Free-agent reality.

The reality that not every member of last season's championship team will be a member of next season's team.

Director of football operations Kevin Colbers says that's just the reality of the NFL salary cap and free agency.

The Steelers have ten unrestricted free agents -- players who are free to sign anywhere they want -- including wide receiver Antwaan Randle El and defensive lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen.

Colbert says the team likely can't afford to resign all of those players, and others, despite a likely salary cap of about $95 million dollars next season.

H.J. Heinz Co. is offering limited-edition ketchup bottles to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl win. The 14-ounce bottles are available with either black or white labels for $5 each and can be bought online.

Ketchup bottles will also be available at Pittsburgh-area grocery stores for $1.79 each.

Pittsburgh-based Heinz - which also lends its name to the Steelers' stadium, Heinz Field - will donate a portion of sales to the Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation, which helps troubled and underprivileged children.