NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Many felt that a suspension for Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would not come till after Thursday’s NFL Draft kicks off, but now Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports! reports that the suspension, which I have felt all along will be two games, will be announced by commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday.

Heres the tidbit from Cole about the announcement of the suspension:

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to suspend Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Monday or Tuesday as a result of the recent sexual assault investigation in Milledgeville, Ga., multiple sources have indicated to Yahoo! Sports.

Though the Ocmulgee Circuit District Attorney announced last Monday that Roethlisberger wouldn't be charged in the case, sources close to the quarterback said he is unlikely to fight the punishment.

Roethlisberger, who apologized following last week's announcement for the negative attention the incident garnered, would prefer to put the matter to rest as quickly as possible, three sources close to him said.

"Ben understands where this is going and he knows there's punishment he'll have to take," one of the aforementioned sources close to Roethlisberger said. "He knows how much this hurt the team and the league. He wants to make this right."

While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he has been given no timetable for a decision, the question remains whether Goodell will keep the suspension to one or two games or make it four games or longer. It is also unknown whether the Steelers will levy an additional penalty upon Roethlisberger of if a punishment will be factored into the league's suspension. Over the weekend, two league sources said Goodell was growing angrier by the day as more information from the investigation became public.

The Steelers have said all along they have had plenty of contact with the NFL about the matter, so an additional couple of games on top of what the NFL gives him probably won’t happen, if it’s two games like I have thought it would be, I would say the league basically is saying they will suspend him a game, and the Steelers a game.

Nevertheless, the team would like to get this matter dealt with as well, so they can begin to plan life without the franchise QB, no matter how long it may be when the 2010 season kicks off.

While many folks in the media were relatively harsh regarding Marvin Lewis' generally vague comments in his annual pre-draft press conference, I for one was pleased with what I heard.  I heard a man not pressed to fill any gaping holes on his team. I heard a coach happy with his roster, confident in his program, and consequently calm, focused, and ready for the draft.

Of particular note was his comment that the team's first round pick does not "have" to start from day one; the here-to-for unheard of philosophy in Cincinnati that you pick the best player on the board, not the best guy for the glaring weakness you have.  This philosophy has worked for years in places like Pittsburgh, New England, and New York.  For once, the team has the luxury of flexibility in the draft.

There will certainly be discussion in the war room based upon coaches perceptions of current members of the roster, their contract statuses and the like, but when the rubber meets the road, when the Bengals are on the clock, they can go in one of several different ways without worry or concern that they may neglect an obvious need.  The team can field 22 NFL quality starters right now, before the draft even happens, and that, my friends is priceless.

"But what about Tight End?!" I can hear the peanut gallery now.

Yes, Tight End is a position that could use more bodies, but don't for one second think that the team is honing in on Jermaine Gresham, the TE from Oklahoma and consensus talking-head pick for Cincinnati at 21.  Why?  Well, he's a Tight End, and while the team needs better play from that position, the fact of the matter is that TE does not have the most vital of roles in Bob Bratkowski's offense.  The fact is that 40% of the time, the TE is another tackle in the running game, or is extra protection on long yardage situations.

This is not to say that I do not condone the idea of bringing in a dynamic talent at the position.  I whole-heartedly do.  But Gresham and second TE Rob Gronkowski of Arizona both carry with them a disturbing injury history, and there are capable options in rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5 that can contribute to at least the level of a Dan Coats.  Besides, Chase Coffman has not had an opportunity to play a single down yet, and the team will be bringing back Reggie Kelly before the draft.  Sure Tony Sheffler would be nice, but I just don't see it happening, and the Bengals have officially poo-pooed that rumor within hours of it coming out.  Either way, though, I wrote in this space that the team should address the position prior to the draft, and Lewis basically confirmed my thinking in the press conference.

One cannot honestly believe that Gresham would be the pick if Earl Thomas is available at 21; or Dez Bryant, or Jason Pierre-Paul, or even Taylor Mays.

One thing I can guarantee after 20 years of watching drafts, is there will be a player that inexplicably falls and is head-and-shoulders above the guys that were expected to be there.  I don't know who it will be this year, but he'll be staring at the Bengals at 21, and this year, they can confidently pull the trigger.  And by the way, this happens in round two as well.  Don't be shocked if Gronkowski is on the board when the Bengals are up again in the second.

So who should they get with the 21^st pick?  Who knows?  Let the draft work itself out.  Here are some names to keep an eye on:

Dez Bryant: Though it now looks like he may be gone by the time the Bengals pick, if Denver passes on him at 11, he may fall right into their lap.

Earl Thomas:  This is the player I think the team covets the most.  He should be gone by 21, but if not, they'll gladly scoop him up.  If he is gone, then…

Nate Allen: The safety prospect from South Florida is moving up draft boards, and some are calling him the second best safety after Tennessee's Eric Berry.

Mike Iupati:  If the Steelers pass on the massive guard from Idaho, Bengals Offensive Line Coach Paul Alexander will begin salivating.

Brandon Graham:  The OLB from Michigan is getting rave reviews for his evaluation period performances.  Reminds me of the type of guy the Bengals were trying to land with David Pollack.

At the end of the day, who the heck knows? The team cannot control what the 20 teams in front of them do.  All they can do is wait for their turn, and pick the best player left that fits their philosophy and matches the kind of lunch pail work ethic Marvin Lewis is looking for.

As always, it'll be top-notch entertainment.  We'll all be holding our collective breathe as the commissioner steps to the podium.  We'll all know in the back of our minds it could be someone we haven't even discussed or fretted over.  Remember David Klinger?  Remember Chris Perry?  How about Levi Jones?  No one saw those guys coming.  So, while I look forward to seeing one of the above mentioned players in stripes, it won't shock me to hear something like…

"With the 21^st pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select….Jahvid Best, runningback, Cal." Don't laugh.  It could happen.

Only a few days to go and all this waiting will be over and the real fun–the second-guessing, draft grades, postmortems and analysis–can begin.

Chris Mortensen was asked by a Twitter user what the odds were of an Osi Umenyiora trade. He said:

60-40 he's traded, maybe higher

I still can't see a trade happening. Osi is in a team friendly contract, and unless they get a great return, I can't see it happening. More from Mort:

I think Giants can get a 2nd-round pick for Osi if things fall right. The Rams' pick at top of 2nd would be very attractive.

The Rams pick, 33, would be attractive. With this being a deep draft, the Giants can easily get another 1st round talent. Who else is interested, Mort?

'Fins, Rams & Panthers are interested in Osi

If the Giants are serious about trading Osi, I think it means that Osi has become a locker room cancer. You don't trade a top defensive end in his  prime, unless there is something else behind it. We know that Osi has his issues with Bill Sheridan, but he's gone, and I think that Perry Fewell will be a good fit with Osi. Even though Osi had a down year last year, he's still a top pass rusher, and I see no reason as to why he would be traded.

If they trade Osi, then Mathias Kiwanuka would step in as starter (side note: Do you think the year at linebacker hurt Kiwanuka?). You would have to think they would use one of those two picks on a linebacker (Which makes the Jason Pierre-Paul visit very interesting). If they get the Rams' 2nd round pick, their first two rounds could be: Rolando McClain, Carlos Dunlap, Jahvid Best. I would be okay with that, but I would rather have Osi than Dunlap, Pierre-Paul or Derrick Morgan.

This summer, my first dedicated to the Black and Gold book will be coming out in stores entitled "100 Things Every Steelers Fan Should Know Before They Die." The book, which is being published by Triumph Books, will be in stores and will retail for $14.95. We will have ordering info through Amazon as soon as it becomes available.

In the meantime, through the offseason, we'll give Steelers Gab readers a sneak peek of some chapters of the book. With the draft this week, today is chapter 11, which talks about the greatest draft class in the history of the NFL – the Steelers draft class of 1974. Enjoy!

When it comes to the draft, the Steelers to this day still have what is considered to be the greatest draft class of the history of the league, this coming in 1974. It was five years into the Chuck Noll coaching regime, and the Steelers had slowly started to build a championship dynasty. Noll had already added a few players that would go on to be legends – among them included Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris. But no one, not even Noll, could have expected the success that the 74 draft brought them.

The team had success in the 1973 season, going 10-4 in the regular season, but were dispatched rather easily by the Oakland Raiders in the playoffs 33-14. The team needed just a few more pieces, and in that famous 74 draft, they got that and a whole lot more.

With the team holding the 21st pick, they went with a playmaking wide receiver in the first round, taking Lynn Swann from USC. They wanted a player that Bradshaw could develop a 1-2 punch with, as the following season little known Ron Shanklin was the teams leading pass catcher with 30 catches for 711 yards, though he did have 10 scores.

Over Swann's career, he was a Super Bowl MVP, and put together some of the most memorable catches in NFL history. Needless to say, the pick was a success. He also played hurt, as was shown after he took a vicious hit in the 1975 AFC Title game against the Raiders. He came back, concussion and all, to have a huge game against Dallas to take home the MVP in the Super Bowl X win 21-17.

Round two saw the team get an undersized linebacker with attitude from Kent State by the same of Jack Lambert. As a rookie, Lambert was just 204 pounds, but he used his heart and desire to be the best to become in some experts eyes the best middle linebacker in NFL history. He had quick feet, and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Lambert was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and helped the team win Super Bowl IX with a dominating defensive outing topping the Vikings 16-6. Better known as "Count Dracula in Cleats," after he lost his four upper teeth in high school taking an elbow, Lambert was a menace to running backs and quarterbacks. He went on to win four Super Bowls, go to nine straight Pro Bowls, and was the 1976 NFL Defensive Player of the year. He went into the Hall of Fame in 1990.

The following round saw Noll and the club take Alabama A&M wide receiver John Stallworth. Another Hall of Famer, Stallworth and Swann combined to be an incredible 1-2 punch at wide receiver for the Steelers for their Super Bowl years. Stallworth was not as flashy as Swann, but he set franchise records at the time with 537 grabs for 8,723 yards and 63 touchdowns. He played in four Pro Bowls, and was a two-time team MVP. He went into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

The only player that never gets a lot of attention from that Steelers draft was their fourth round pick – UCLA cornerback Jimmy Allen. The 100th overall pick did play on two Super Bowl teams, and did even hold Raiders WR Cliff Branch to just one catch in three critical possessions in the 1974 AFC Title game in Oakland. He was a contributor on special teams, making two tackles in Super Bowl IX vs. Minnesota. Allen stuck around until he was traded to the Lions before the 1979 season.

The fifth and final Hall of Famer from the 1974 draft was the teams fifth round pick, center Mike Webster. "Iron" Mike was the anchor of the Steelers offensive line from 1976 to 1988. He played in 150 straight games, and was a seven time All-Pro and played in 9 Pro Bowls. He started his career learning from Ray Mansfield, and ended it teaching Dermontti Dawson. He was a great influence, and was a great friend on and off the field with his quarterback, Terry Bradshaw.

Webster was the last active player in the NFL to play on all four Steelers Super Bowl teams. The jersey he wore – #52, never has been reissued by the team, showing the respect they had for their late center who passed away sadly in 2002, just six seasons after he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"It's nice to be lucky," Noll said of that 74 draft. "You never know how it's going to turn out, fortunately we got some guys who wanted to produce that year."

You can say that again. Five players, four Hall of Famers, and four Super Bowl trophies later, no draft class in NFL History has even been held in such high regard. And for good reason.