The Steelers don't have much quality depth behind Hood

The two candidates for extensions for the Pittsburgh Steelers are wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and defensive lineman Ziggy Hood. Neither has really established himself yet in the league, but Sanders should be the priority because he'll draw more demand if he hits the free-agent market. As a restricted free agent, Sanders received an offer sheet from the New England Patriots this year. Sanders' agent indicated other teams were interested as well.

Sanders confirmed in May that the sides have begun talking about an extension. The Steelers were able to sign wide receiver Antonio Brown before his contract expired, agreeing to a six-year, $43.04 million contract (including $8.5 million signing bonus) in late July. It could be difficult to find the right value for Sanders, who has eight career starts and has never caught more than 44 passes in a season. He should easily surpass that total this year in taking over for Mike Wallace. Reaching a deal with Sanders would solidify the Steelers at wide receiver for the future. Beyond Brown and Sanders, the Steelers have rookie third-round pick Markus Wheaton and two over-30 veterans in Jerricho Cotchery (31) and Plaxico Burress (35).

The Steelers don't have much quality depth behind Hood, but they should be able to retain him in free agency. Hood hasn't lived up to expectations of being a first-round pick, which makes signing him to an extension right now a little risky. Last year, Hood was hit or miss. He recorded four one-tackle games and went two games without a tackle. But he made 24 tackles over a five-game span in December. The starting defensive front next year for Pittsburgh will likely be Hood, Cameron Heyward and Steve McLendon, who signed a three-year, $7.25 million contract extension in April.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley created headlines in June 2011, when he said Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco wouldn't go to the Super Bowl "in his lifetime." As you know, Flacco didn't just go to the Super Bowl last season. He won it and was the game's Most Valuable Player.

When I asked Woodley about those comments a few days ago, he said he doesn't regret saying it even though he still hears about it from fans on Facebook and Twitter.

"I don't take it back at all," Woodley told the AFC North blog. "As a player on any team, you're never going to say your rival is going to win the Super Bowl. That's knocking you out of the tournament that year. Somebody on their team pretty sure would say that as well. That's the nature of what it is. A lot of people don't understand. They're going to take it the way they want to take it."

To his credit, leading up to the Super Bowl between the Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, Woodley told a radio station in Florida that he was rooting for the Ravens because he wanted to see Ray Lewis get a ring in his final game.

"The year we beat Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game, I saw Ray Lewis out in Tampa (before the Super Bowl). He was telling me to go out there and win the game," Woodley said. "That speaks a lot coming from a rival. But, early in the season, you just can't never say your rival is going to win the Super Bowl."

Woodley was also the target of a quote from a anonymous teammate, who said Woodley's lack of production stemmed from him not working out in the offseason. According to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, safety Ryan Clark convinced Woodley to work with his trainer in Arizona this year.

"Whatever he's doing appears to be right," linebackers coach Keith Butler said. "We'll see when we get to training camp. The biggest thing for him is we have to keep him on the field. We've talked to him about that, and he understands that. Lamar is a prideful man, and he understands that he has to play at a certain level to fulfill his contract, you might say. He's working at it."

-- This article from: espn.go.com

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