Ryan Shazier

 

The Steelers Ryan Shazier formally announced his retirement from football two days ago.  If you remember the horrific injury that he sustained on the field in Cincinnati in 2017, such an announcement was certainly not a surprise.   You also know that for as good a player this former #1 Draft Pick was for the Steelers, those abilities paled in comparison to his amazing, inspiring, and almost miraculous recovery over the past three years.

He said that he plans to leave football for "awhile", do some work on a football podcast, and finish up getting his college degree from Pitt.  I won't be surprised to see him coaching in the NFL at some point in the future.  Anyone who was inspired by Ryan Shazier can do nothing but wish him a long, happy, and successful Life's Work.

And I loved what Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said to him at his announcement on Wednesday:  "You can retire from the game of football, but you will never retire from being a Pittsburgh Steeler."

#Shalieve

Some NFL Draft Thoughts

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Shazier.  Of course, many of the draftniks out there in Steelers Nation have already decreed you to be, at best, a misplaced pick, and at worst, a complete waste of a first round pick.  For what it is worth, I am willing to wait to see how you can actually play football in the NFL before passing any sort of judgement.  One thing I do know is that after two consecutive non-playoff 8-8 seasons, the Steelers need lots more good football players, regardless of position.  

Some other thoughts after watching about 45 minutes or so of that ridiculous hype-fest last evening.....

• ESPN had Chris Berman and Ray Lewis.   The NFL Network has Michael Irvin and Mike Mayock.  Talk about the worst of both worlds!  Awful, simply awful.
• I know it's all entertainment and show biz, but how in the name of God can they drag this out over three days.  Haven't we suffered enough?
• After getting a gander at the people in the audience at Radio City, I have concluded that this is the football equivalent of a Star Trek Convention.
• Mel Kiper's hairline seems to be exceeding at an alarming rate, thus threatening with extinction one of the great heads of hair of all time.
• Bow ties seem to be a trend among young athletes.
• I hope that I never reach a state in life where I can get lathered up over the possibility of someone "trading up" or "trading down".
• The Cleve Brownies draft Johnny Manziel after watching him "drop" (that word must be said with great gravity, by the way, kind of like how "the Japenese have bombed Pearl Harbor" was spoken in 1941).  I am sure that Browns replica #2 jerseys will be in Cleveland area stores by Monday.  To all my friends in Cleveland, keep the following names in mind before you fork out over a hundred bucks for one: Tim Couch and Brady Quinn.
• Actually, I have no great feelings for Johnny Football one way or another.  In fact, I kind of hope he makes it, if for no other reason than to prove the hide-bound NFL old school types wrong.  No question he was an exciting college player.  Time will tell if that will translate into pro success, or, more to the point, if his coaches will allow it to happen.
• And speaking of Manziel, did you see the vitriol Ron Cook used to describe him in his column this morning?  Wow, wonder when Manziel pee'd in Ron's Weaties to provoke such bitter comments.  Oh, right, this is Ron Cook we're talking about.

Remember Ben Magee?  He was a defensive lineman for the Steelers, and a good one, in the final days of the pre-Chuck Noll era of Steelers football.  One day, my Dad ran in to him at downtown lunch counter shortly after the NFL draft (back in the days when it went of over twenty rounds, wasn't televised, and was concluded in one day), and Frank Sproule says to him, "What do you think of the guys they drafted, Ben?"  Ben's reply was simple one: "Can't tell anything about any of them until you get them into camp."

That is the best post-draft analysis I have ever heard, and it is why, while I may read post-draft analysis articles, I pay very little heed to them.