2008: The Future of Faneca
Like this article?
Normally I’d save this for another time, but I was prodded on by my friends over at the Post-Gazette’s Blog-N-Gold. They are in agreement with a few other bloggers in the nation that 2007 will be Alan Faneca’s last season as a Steeler (a little more link love for my biggest supporters). I respectfully disagree.
Let me get one thing in the open now: I am not a former NFL player. Thanks in part to injuries and part-time jobs, I never played in high school. Thanks to a mom who stunted my growth, I never played in college — unless you count being defensive captain of an intramural team that lost the championship in the final minutes. I don’t have the credentials that some others in the community possess.
However, there are four Steelers who simply cannot go away. I don’t care if you have to cut other starters in order to pay them. Those four are Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, Ben Roethlisberger and Alan Faneca. They are the four most outstanding players on the team. No disrespect to Hines Ward — he’s the best receiver on the team, but the depth and future they are building at the position are setting the team up for success in the passing game for years. Losing Ward would be huge, but not as big of a loss to recover from as would be losing one of the aforementioned studs.
Think about it: Faneca is the anchor of the line, especially now that Jeff Hartings has retired. There needs to be a clear-cut leader, to act as the glue that holds any cohesive offensive line together as a single unit. Who is going to play that role without Faneca? Marvel Smith? Great player, but he’s not the leader that Faneca is. And no one in the city of Pittsburgh could hold a straight face if they were told that Kendall Simmons or Max Starks was to be named a team captain. All levels of hilarity, disbelief and pure shock would undoubtedly ensue.
The only hurdle to keeping Faneca around would likely be whether or not Mike Tomlin can win his respect. Faneca was the most outspoken Steeler after Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm left for warmer climes, and it will take some work to make him a believer. But I don’t think he’d want to jump ship at this point in his career — not with the potential for greatness that still exists on this team.
Loading ...
April 11th, 2007 at 12:52 am
In the free-agency ear nothing is for sure, but I agree with you that Faneca has to stay. But that will depend on Faneca and the Steelers. Historically the Steelers have rarely been a team to put out huge packages for even thier best players, so if Faneca is more concerned about money than Championships he will go the way of Joey Porter.
As far as Faneca working with Tomlin, I do not think that Mike Tomlin will have have a problem winning his respect, and I do not think that Faneca’s comments about the hiring of Tomlin mean anything. Faneca says what he thinks period. It is the media and others that make a big deal out of it. I am sure that every Steeler had an opinion on who they wanted to see hired as their next coach. But let’s face it, when the pads go on and the team is out there, the Steelers will come together under Mike Tomlin, just as they would have under Grimm or Whis..
April 22nd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I agree totally that losing Faneca is not an option, but I don’t believe the front office sees the need to keep him as urgent as it truly is. I think we will all be surprised at how many of the highest paid players will be “let go” in the next year or two. The Rooney running the show now just isn’t the same kind of football savy owner as his father and grandfather were.