Father Time May Be Calling Soon
Several Key Players Getting A Little Long In The Tooth
By Jerry DiPaola

The black, creeping specter of time, marching, marching, inexorably, toward an uncertain future, might be catching up to the Steelers.

Almost when no one was looking, the Steelers have become a team with 12 players, nearly all of them ticketed to make major contributions this season, who have passed or are approaching the dark side of 30 years of age.

They include three defensive starters who rely heavily on speed and are depended on to make plays in pass coverage, free safety Brent Alexander, cornerback Dewayne Washington, and linebacker Jason Gildon, plus, defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen. On offense, the over-30 club includes quarterback Tommy Maddox, running back Jerome Bettis, tight end Mark Bruener and center Jeff Hartings. Three others, tight end Jay Riemersma, offensive tackle Todd Fordham and punter Josh Miller, should make key contributions either in or out of the starting lineup. Chris Doering, who turned 30 in May, is hoping to win a job as a backup wide receiver.

Is coach Bill Cowher worried? Not enough that he let reporters know about it when the question was posed at his pre-camp news conference last month. But he does admit to making concessions to the advancing age of some of his most important players.

"I think we have to make sure these guys are fresh and ready to go for the season," he said.

How does he do that?

"It's trying to look at camp and see what the weather is like and trying to monitor the work we are getting done and see what type of work we are getting done."

Throughout his previous 11 seasons as coach of the Steelers, Cowher has usually known when to push his team and when to back off. He angrily spits venom when a training-camp practice deteriorates into sloppiness, but he also has canceled practice and taken his team to see a movie in an air-conditioned theater during each of the past two camps.

"That is the fine line, as a coach, you are walking in training camp," he said, "with the heat and getting your team prepared and evaluating people and giving them enough looks competitively that they have a chance to win a position, if it is up for grabs."

With age, comes another element that the Steelers can't avoid, increasing salaries. Several of the older players will have large salary cap numbers next to their names as late as the 2006 season. For example, the Steelers would count nearly $6.9 million against the cap for Gildon, who will be a 34-year-old outside linebacker three years from now. Washington would be a $4.8 million cap hit in 2005 as a 33-year-old cornerback. If Bettis plays his contract through to the end (2006), he'll do it as a 35-year-old who counts $6.49 million.

Of course, some of the older players will be released or have their contracts restructured or reduced before they expire. Bruener may have saved his roster spot this year by accepting a salary cut of about $1.2 million.

Without referring to any specific players, director of football operations Kevin Colbert said such adjustments are not unusual. "But, hopefully, you have realistic deals in place, so you may not have to do that," he said. "But there's never a guarantee that you're always going to be able to see it through."

The problem arises when players are released before the end of their contracts. In those cases, the remaining pro-rated portions of the signing bonuses still count against the cap, even though the players are no longer with the team. Quarterback Kordell Stewart, for example, is costing the Steelers' $1.6 million on the accounting ledger while he plays for the Chicago Bears. Released and contemplating retirement, former linebacker John Fiala counts $191,666.

Every team has this so-called "dead money," but Colbert said the Steelers have less than most. Instead of releasing veterans, they are signing them and making efficient use of the cap. "We think our dead money situation is good. Ultimately, you want to have zero, but that's kind of impossible in this day and age."

Like Cowher, Colbert said he is not worried. "Whatever money is stated in their contracts, we hope and we believe that we've realistically projected that they are going to be that type of player in those coming years. There are no guarantees to that, because of injury, but any player faces that."

The Steelers have been on a spending spree in the past two years, writing more than $70 million in signing bonus checks for more than two dozen players. Colbert disputed a recent internet report that the NFL management council, a watchdog arm of the league office that must approve every contract, warned the Steelers to watch their spending. He said recent contact between the league and team officials has been "routine."

Colbert, Cowher, president Art Rooney II and his father Dan, the team chairman, have carefully constructed the Steelers team currently preparing for the season at training camp at St. Vincent College.They have spent millions of dollars, drafted well under Colbert (pulling five starters from the classes of 2000-2002) and been to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. Of the 22 starters from 2002, 20 return this season, and the Steelers are heavy favorites to repeat as champions of the AFC North.

"We feel good about the team we have," Colbert said. "We feel good about having a lot of these guys locked up. I think the players feel good knowing their status as well, because now everybody can concentrate on winning. You have minimal distractions from a contract standpoint. We hope we invested wisely and we all end up reaping the benefits."

Colbert said cap considerations will not outweigh football considerations when the roster is finalized later this month. If a veteran is a better fit than a rookie at a particular position, Colbert said the Steelers will keep that veteran, even though he will count more money against the cap.

"The cap situation is never going to dictate the final roster," he said. "We are going to keep the best 53 players."

Jerry DiPaola covers the Steelers and NFL for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.