Your thoughts on Woodley please?

[pittpete]

LaMarr Woodley (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/4224/lamarr-woodley)
8/5/2011: Signed a six-year, $61.5 million contract. The deal contains $22.5 million guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus, first-year "option" bonus of $4.4 million, and Woodley's first-year base salary.
2012: $700,000 (+ $8.2 million "signing" bonus),
2013: $9 million,
2014: $8 million,
2015: $8.5 million,
2016: $9 million,
2017: Free Agent

4 Sacks
1 INT
1 Forced Fumble
1 Fumble Recovery

Lot of $$$ due to Mr. Woodley this upcoming year
2nd year in a row he has dealt with injuries and the $$$ he will be due just isnt worth the stats.
Is this a sign of the times for him?
Anyone think the Steelers ask him to take a paycut?
Lets face it, if the Steelers cant get any pressure on the other side then Woodley is pretty much screwed.
With the chance that Harrison won't be back and Worilds proven hes better on the right, what do you see happening?
Discuss

[BigRob]

LaMarr Woodley (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/4224/lamarr-woodley)
8/5/2011: Signed a six-year, $61.5 million contract. The deal contains $22.5 million guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus, first-year "option" bonus of $4.4 million, and Woodley's first-year base salary.
2012: $700,000 (+ $8.2 million "signing" bonus),
2013: $9 million,
2014: $8 million,
2015: $8.5 million,
2016: $9 million,
2017: Free Agent

4 Sacks
1 INT
1 Forced Fumble
1 Fumble Recovery

Lot of $$$ due to Mr. Woodley this upcoming year
2nd year in a row he has dealt with injuries and the $$$ he will be due just isnt worth the stas.
Is this a sign of the times for him?
Anyone think the Steelers ask him to take a paycut?
Lets face it, if the Steelers cant get any pressure on the other side then Woodley is pretty much screwed.
With the chance that Harrison won't be back and Worilds proven hes better on the right, what do you see happening?
Discuss

It just all depends on what the front office thinks. If James Harrison agrees to be cut and re-sign at a very low contract. Maybe they look at cutting Gildon-Woodley.

However, I think perhaps this is the year Woodley gets serious about his conditioning as he needs to be and comes back with a 15 sack season.

I am hoping that Harrison gets cut and comes back at a very reasonable contract. Woodley/Harrison/Worilds is better than no Harrison.

[pittpete]

However, I think perhaps this is the year Woodley gets serious about his conditioning as he needs to be and comes back with a 15 sack season.

That would be so kind of Gildley after signing that huge contract.:p

[lloydroid]

I honestly am leaning towards cutting him. He isn't putting in enough effort to justify his contract. He comes in way too fat and out of shape to be making $9 million next year. And he is a hamstring injury waiting to happen every year these days. Also, dumping him would send a much-needed message to this team: We won't tolerate lack of effort, whether that be on the field, or getting ready to play (conditioning, weight control). Now, if they were willing to try a 4-3 using him as a DE, I might be willing to give that a try. But as is, he misses too much playing time, partly because he is simply too fat, and when he does play, he no longer produces. Since when do you pay $9 million for that? If they allow it, they are morons.

[pittpete]

Maybe let him gain 10 more lbs. and switch to a 4-3 defense

[lloydroid]

It just all depends on what the front office thinks. If James Harrison agrees to be cut and re-sign at a very low contract. Maybe they look at cutting Gildon-Woodley.

However, I think perhaps this is the year Woodley gets serious about his conditioning as he needs to be and comes back with a 15 sack season.

I am hoping that Harrison gets cut and comes back at a very reasonable contract. Woodley/Harrison/Worilds is better than no Harrison.

Harrison was rounding into his old self lately, as opposed to Woodley, who has done jack crap this season, whether he is playing or not. I think James will be ready to rock next year. And a healthy Harrison is as good as ANY LB in the NFL. He just is outstanding.

[JB13]

I think Woodley and Troy are in similar situations. They each need to reevaluate how they're preparing for the season. Troy should be done training with Marinovich. As for Woodley, if you've been plagued by hamstring injuries, make it your job in the offseason to investigate every feasible solution for getting your hamstrings to hold up over a 16 game schedule. Whatever it takes, that's what you do. You got your money, now put in the work needed to justify it. Find the best physical conditioning program you can and immerse yourself in it. I don't think either one of these guys has done enough to help themselves with injuries. I understand injuries often just happen, but you have to do everything you can to prevent them. If you know your hammies are giving out on you, find out why. If your calf is becoming a problem area, find out why. Try and fix things because what you're doing now isn't working.

[lloydroid]

Maybe let him gain 10 more lbs. and switch to a 4-3 defense

I am open to that. But to bring him back as an OLB in a 3-4 at $9 mill? No way.

[pittpete]

What are the cap implications concerning Woodley and his contract?
Anyone know?
If I'm looking at the contract correctly, he allready got his guaranteed $$$ in 2011 & 2012
If he's cut the cap hit would be accelerated.
13(signing bonus) divided by 6(length of contract) multiplied by 4(years left on contract) would come out to 8.6 million.
Did I do this right?

[BigRob]

I think Woodley and Troy are in similar situations. They each need to reevaluate how they're preparing for the season. Troy should be done training with Marinovich.

Troy didn't work out with Marinovich this offseason. He trained in Pittsburgh. Perhaps he should train with Ike. Taylor is always in top shape.

[BigRob]

What are the cap implications concerning Woodley and his contract?
Anyone know?
If I'm looking at the contract correctly, he allready got his guaranteed $$$ in 2011 & 2012
If he's cut the cap hit would be accelerated.
13(signing bonus) divided by 6(length of contract) multiplied by 4(years left on contract) would come out to 8.6 million.
Did I do this right?

Not sure, but I know he has a 13.2 million dollar cap charge this year.

[pittpete]

Steelers Restructure LaMarr Woodley's Contract; Clear $6.5M In 2012 Cap Space



The Pittsburgh Steelers cleared $6.56 million of salary cap space by renegotiating the contract of outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, a league source confirmed on Tuesday.

Franchised by the Steelers prior to last year's lockout, Woodley signed a five-year extension worth $52.5 million on August. Woodley received a $13 million signing bonus, $4 million option bonus and a $1.1 million base salary which resulted in a 2011 cap number of $7.7 million. In 2012, Woodley was due a $3.4 million base salary and had a $5.5 million roster bonus due on the 5th day of the 2012 league year for a cap number of $11.5 million.

On Monday, Woodley agreed to a restructure that lowered his base salary to $700,000. The remaining $2.7 million in base salary was combined with his $5.5 million roster bonus and converted into an $8.2 million signing bonus, which will be prorated over the remaining five seasons of Woodley's contract.

Woodley's cap number in 2012 is now $4.94 million.

Woodley's base salaries in 2013-16 were unchanged, but $1.64 million was added to each year's cap number.

[Snatch98]

Those of you suggesting we cut him are out of your damn mind. He as already mentioned just needs to come in to camp at a reasonable weight. Playing at 270 pounds isn't working in his favor.

[lloydroid]

Those of you suggesting we cut him are out of your damn mind. He as already mentioned just needs to come in to camp at a reasonable weight. Playing at 270 pounds isn't working in his favor.

Snatch, how are we out of our minds if he DOES come in at 270? You admit he did so, yet you say cutting him is an insane idea. What if he comes in that heavy again, hurts his hammie again, and then when he does play, he plays invisible again? How would the idea of cutting him be so insane as those conditions could very well be what we get out of him next season?

[hawaiiansteel]

The WoodenDong Report (Game #15, vs. Cinci)

December 26, 2012 by Still Mill

In the spirit of the famous GilDong Report, we now bring you the WoodenDong Report.

In light of many a fan (and GM Kevin Colbert as well) being bamboozled and ga-ga over LaMarr Woodley’s paper statistics the past 3 seasons, I've devoted considerable time to monitor the work of the exceptionally average LaMarr Woodley.

As longtime Stillers.com readers may recall, Big Jason had been famous enough with his coverage sacks, flop sacks, the QB-slipped-on-the-wet-turf sacks, the OT totally forgot his blocking assignment sacks, and so on, that the NFL designated a new statistic, called the "Dong Sack™", in honor of Jason Gildong. (Some fantasy football leagues have incorporated this into their point systems for well over a decade.)

Here in 2012, we'll again take time to expose The Dogger, LaMarr Woodley, for the fraud that he truly is.

LaMarr missed games 12 and 13 with a (sob !) sore ankle, and finally returned to action last week versus the Cowpokes. Now, this past weekend, he was presumably as healthy as a horse, and should have been ready to hunt bear, with the playoffs on the line. He should have been looking to feast on the Bengals, against right tackle Andre Smith, who had allowed seven sacks and 24 hurries coming into the game.
At 9:14 2Q, Green-Ellis ran up RT and LaMarr got a slop assist.

Late in the 2Q, Green Ellis ran up RT on 1st down, and gained a nice, healthy 4 yards, with Big LaMarr finally making the stop. Any time you allow 4 yards on the ground on first down, it’s losing football, plain and simple.

Believe it or not, this was it from Big LaMarr during a game in which he played 62 of the 64 plays run by the Cinci offense. 1 solo, 1 assist, and a large pile of vomit.

Late in the 2Q, The Big He-Man was easily blocked out on a 2d & 15 shovel pass, which gained 23 yards and a 1st down.


Being such a big he-man, LaMarr got eaten alive in SOLO blocking by a TIGHT END, be it Jermaine Gresham or Orson Charles. He went 1 on 1 again the RT, Smith, 20 times, and never even got a sniff of the QB.

Big hits? NONE. Heavy QB pressure? None. Blown up plays? NONE. A paw in the face of the QB to disrupt the QB? None. Meaningful impact? None. The $61M Man spent the entire game titty-jousting and pad-groping and playing ***** paw-paw with opposing blockers. He loafed and lollygagged.

During his recent hiatus, we found out that Big LaMarr is a pro bowler. No, dummy....he’s not going to the Pro Bowl. As ****ty as their standards are, they wouldn’t take such a ****bag. No, Big LaMarr is a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Jackrabbits of a professional bowling league, which makes The Paper Tiger a pro bowler. "LaMarr is a proven winner -- his first question was how he could start winning," said PBA commissioner Tom Clark. Funny -- that’s the same question we’ve been asking of LaMarr....how he could start winning, instead of being the sack o’ **** loser that he has been for well over 3 years.

Of course, we here at Stillers.com know better. We’ve actually spent time watching and re-watching the game. Apparently, this is all ya get for $61M. Lesson learned -- ya can’t polish a turd, no matter how much money you might lavish him with. Just ask Jason GilDong, the original Donger himself.

Season to date totals for Big LaMarr, in 13 games:

Earned Sacks: 2

Dong Sacks™: 2

Strips, Jars, fumbles caused: 1

Flailing Whiffs: 3

First downs allowed: 11

TDs allowed: 1

http://www.stillers.com/Article/View/815e2944-0c13-4031-b4b6-894c8ed8bf91

[BigRob]

The WoodenDong Report (Game #15, vs. Cinci)

December 26, 2012 by Still Mill

In the spirit of the famous GilDong Report, we now bring you the WoodenDong Report.

In light of many a fan (and GM Kevin Colbert as well) being bamboozled and ga-ga over LaMarr Woodley’s paper statistics the past 3 seasons, I've devoted considerable time to monitor the work of the exceptionally average LaMarr Woodley.

As longtime Stillers.com readers may recall, Big Jason had been famous enough with his coverage sacks, flop sacks, the QB-slipped-on-the-wet-turf sacks, the OT totally forgot his blocking assignment sacks, and so on, that the NFL designated a new statistic, called the "Dong Sack™", in honor of Jason Gildong. (Some fantasy football leagues have incorporated this into their point systems for well over a decade.)

Here in 2012, we'll again take time to expose The Dogger, LaMarr Woodley, for the fraud that he truly is.

LaMarr missed games 12 and 13 with a (sob !) sore ankle, and finally returned to action last week versus the Cowpokes. Now, this past weekend, he was presumably as healthy as a horse, and should have been ready to hunt bear, with the playoffs on the line. He should have been looking to feast on the Bengals, against right tackle Andre Smith, who had allowed seven sacks and 24 hurries coming into the game.
At 9:14 2Q, Green-Ellis ran up RT and LaMarr got a slop assist.

Late in the 2Q, Green Ellis ran up RT on 1st down, and gained a nice, healthy 4 yards, with Big LaMarr finally making the stop. Any time you allow 4 yards on the ground on first down, it’s losing football, plain and simple.

Believe it or not, this was it from Big LaMarr during a game in which he played 62 of the 64 plays run by the Cinci offense. 1 solo, 1 assist, and a large pile of vomit.

Late in the 2Q, The Big He-Man was easily blocked out on a 2d & 15 shovel pass, which gained 23 yards and a 1st down.


Being such a big he-man, LaMarr got eaten alive in SOLO blocking by a TIGHT END, be it Jermaine Gresham or Orson Charles. He went 1 on 1 again the RT, Smith, 20 times, and never even got a sniff of the QB.

Big hits? NONE. Heavy QB pressure? None. Blown up plays? NONE. A paw in the face of the QB to disrupt the QB? None. Meaningful impact? None. The $61M Man spent the entire game titty-jousting and pad-groping and playing ***** paw-paw with opposing blockers. He loafed and lollygagged.

During his recent hiatus, we found out that Big LaMarr is a pro bowler. No, dummy....he’s not going to the Pro Bowl. As ****ty as their standards are, they wouldn’t take such a ****bag. No, Big LaMarr is a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Jackrabbits of a professional bowling league, which makes The Paper Tiger a pro bowler. "LaMarr is a proven winner -- his first question was how he could start winning," said PBA commissioner Tom Clark. Funny -- that’s the same question we’ve been asking of LaMarr....how he could start winning, instead of being the sack o’ **** loser that he has been for well over 3 years.

Of course, we here at Stillers.com know better. We’ve actually spent time watching and re-watching the game. Apparently, this is all ya get for $61M. Lesson learned -- ya can’t polish a turd, no matter how much money you might lavish him with. Just ask Jason GilDong, the original Donger himself.

Season to date totals for Big LaMarr, in 13 games:

Earned Sacks: 2

Dong Sacks™: 2

Strips, Jars, fumbles caused: 1

Flailing Whiffs: 3

First downs allowed: 11

TDs allowed: 1

http://www.stillers.com/Article/View/815e2944-0c13-4031-b4b6-894c8ed8bf91

Damn, they really don't like him huh.

[Steelhere10]

My thoughts on Fat Boy, he took the money and ran and because he's on three defensive side of the ball in which the team love he will come in fat again and remain on the roster forever.

[papillon]

Harrison was rounding into his old self lately, as opposed to Woodley, who has done jack crap this season, whether he is playing or not. I think James will be ready to rock next year. And a healthy Harrison is as good as ANY LB in the NFL. He just is outstanding.

I agree with this assessment 100%. You can tell Harrison was really on a roll, because he was being held a lot again, because he was able to get low and attain leverage and drive under the tackles. When he was injured and recovering he wasn't able to get under the tackles and drive, they were pushing him aside with ease, not so much the last 4 or games or so. I'm looking forward to having James around for two more years.

Pappy

[Slapstick]

Woodley isn't going anywhere...

[Slapstick]

How nice that the Stillers.com guys like to use wooden dongs....

[SidSmythe]

I just don't understand what these guys spend their money on!!

I'd have 3 personal trainers, 1 live in chiro/LMT, 2 personal cooks and fridge full of organic food.

But i guess 100 pairs of sneakers, 3 sports cars and collection of solid gold kung fu swords are more important.

[supersteeler]

Woodley is overwight and it's conributing to his lackluster season. You need speed@ OLB, how in the hell are you going to have speed with the weight he has?

It would be like telling Pouncey to run routes in the passing game.

I like Lamar and he's proven he can be a great player, I would suggest larmar train like no other season, and put the bowling ball down and concentrate on his job.

[squidkid]

lamar fooloed us all. played his heart out, kept his mouth shut and got the huge contract. as soon as he got the payday, he quit. lamar does his toughing on twitter and facebook now. we are swrewed for anumber of years now because of the contract and restructure. woodley played it perfect to get the $. i am shocked that he turned out to be this type of person. i really thought woodley was a player. pissed now that i bought his jersey a few years ago.

[lloydroid]

lamar fooloed us all. played his heart out, kept his mouth shut and got the huge contract. as soon as he got the payday, he quit. lamar does his toughing on twitter and facebook now. we are swrewed for anumber of years now because of the contract and restructure. woodley played it perfect to get the $. i am shocked that he turned out to be this type of person. i really thought woodley was a player. pissed now that i bought his jersey a few years ago.

He has proven to have zero integrity and honor. As soon as he got the $, he quit trying. He represents the giant embarrassment that this team has turned into. The team is broken, and players like him, with attitudes like him, are the reasons why. Also, having a head coach who can't control such crappy attitudes has also led to this team being a total embarrassment.

[lloydroid]

My thoughts on Fat Boy, he took the money and ran and because he's on three defensive side of the ball in which the team love he will come in fat again and remain on the roster forever.

Just like Gildong, Kirkland, et al. This team lacks the stones to make the right personnel moves when it needs to. Once they become "buddies" with players, they let the players walk all over them. It was that way under Cowher and it is still that way with Tomlin, meaning it is the OWNERSHIP that chooses to operate this way, not the coaches.

[SidSmythe]

Just like Gildong, Kirkland, et al. This team lacks the stones to make the right personnel moves when it needs to. Once they become "buddies" with players, they let the players walk all over them. It was that way under Cowher and it is still that way with Tomlin, meaning it is the OWNERSHIP that chooses to operate this way, not the coaches.

I've coached at the college level. It's like that no matter where you go.
There is no place for "man crushes" in football.

[lloydroid]

I've coached at the college level. It's like that no matter where you go.
There is no place for "man crushes" in football.

I' not sure what you mean. When you say it's "like that every where" do you mean the team gets to be buddies with players and then fail to hold their feet to the fire with things like being overweight? I really don't see anyone on Tom Coughlin's teams to be allowed to get away with that, if that's what you meant. Heck, my high school team didn't even let players do that. "What's your weight? What's your weight? What is your target weight? How many pounds to you need to lose? What are you eating? What did you have for lunch today? Stick to eating fruits and veggies, lay off the fat. Eat salad, not pasta."

[JB13]

He has proven to have zero integrity and honor. As soon as he got the $, he quit trying. He represents the giant embarrassment that this team has turned into. The team is broken, and players like him, with attitudes like him, are the reasons why. Also, having a head coach who can't control such crappy attitudes has also led to this team being a total embarrassment.

Agree with you on both points. If we had a stronger head coach, the fix would be easier. With the current leadership, it's a more difficult road.

[squidkid]

I've coached at the college level. It's like that no matter where you go.
There is no place for "man crushes" in football.

where did you coach?

[SS Laser]

Million dollar men should not need an iron thumb to do what is needed and earn there money. One reason the steelers keep vets around forever. Harrison, Ike, Keisel and Polamalu do the offseason work. Antonio Brown followed Ike to do offseason work. Hood did offseason work also. Coaches need to guide the players. Players then need to do what is needed. Some will and stick around. Wallace and Mendy do not seem like they will do all the little things. Woodley better get healthy and do all the off season work. Or he will be on another team at some point.

[lloydroid]

Million dollar men should not need an iron thumb to do what is needed and earn there money. One reason the steelers keep vets around forever. Harrison, Ike, Keisel and Polamalu do the offseason work. Antonio Brown followed Ike to do offseason work. Hood did offseason work also. Coaches need to guide the players. Players then need to do what is needed. Some will and stick around. Wallace and Mendy do not seem like they will do all the little things. Woodley better get healthy and do all the off season work. Or he will be on another team at some point.

Fact of the matter is, football players, However well paid, need coaches to push them. For every Jerry Rice there are 500 Lamar Woodleys. NO football team will push themselves as hard as they should. That is why we have coaches and managers, because people will slack off if left on their own, with just a few exceptions.

[Shoe]

I just don't understand what these guys spend their money on!!

I'd have 3 personal trainers, 1 live in chiro/LMT, 2 personal cooks and fridge full of organic food.

But i guess 100 pairs of sneakers, 3 sports cars and collection of solid gold kung fu swords are more important.

Bwahaha... so true. Don't forget spending all their time in that oh-so productive activity--video games.

[Captain Lemming]

Just like Gildong, Kirkland, et al. This team lacks the stones to make the right personnel moves when it needs to. Once they become "buddies" with players, they let the players walk all over them. It was that way under Cowher and it is still that way with Tomlin, meaning it is the OWNERSHIP that chooses to operate this way, not the coaches.

How very true.

It is this kind of soft approach that resulted in a pathetic result of getting to the sb about every third year and winning twice.
We need a coach like (please name one) who has had more success since 2005 than BC and Tomlin

[pittpete]

Woodley vs. Browns
5 tackles,3 solo
0 sacks
0 QB hits
0 pressures
First guy whos contract should be restructured

[Steel Life]

Woodley vs. Browns
5 tackles,3 solo
0 sacks
0 QB hits
0 pressures
First guy whos contract should be restructured
Thats a pretty sad stat-line...

[squidkid]

Woodley vs. Browns
5 tackles,3 solo
0 sacks
0 QB hits
0 pressures
First guy whos contract should be restructured

thats actually much better than usual

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Thats a pretty sad stat-line...

even sadder is the fact its probably his best in the last month when we were actually fighting for a spot.

he more than anybody on defense, needs to be a hell of a lot better next season.

[flippy]

Throughout his career, Woodley ebbs and flows. Sometimes he plays great for a string of games. Then sucks for a string. I think it's due to injury a lot. And I think he must play through stuff often. But when he's healthy, he seems to produce.

I'm not so worried about Woodley. Maybe he could work a little harder to condition himself? Perhaps he and Dwyer could start working out with Ike or Harrison?

[hawaiiansteel]

Kovacevic: LaMarr’s lament? Who knows?

By Dejan Kovacevic
Published: Sunday, December 30, 2012

http://triblive.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=4S1yJ vcDUGzca1zkctzbCs$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYsMb1uYUrz5gXw rbjnqOjcjWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4 uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_C ryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg

At 3:53 p.m. Sunday, the Steelers‘ winter ended with a whimper, this thoroughly hollow 24-10 burial of the beat-up, bumbling Cleveland Browns at a half-empty Heinz Field.

Minutes later, Mike Tomlin stood outside the home locker room and shook the hands of all his men as they passed. He always does that.

“Thanks for the effort,” the coach would repeat to each, again and again.

Otherwise, though, no one really seemed to know what to say ...

Tomlin: “It was good to finish on a positive note.”

Ben Roethlisberger: “It was important to go into our offseason with a good taste.”

Max Starks: “We didn‘t want to have a losing record. Besides, it‘s Cleveland, you know?”

Yikes.

But, hey, who can blame them?

Can anyone fully process how a team goes 8-8 and misses the playoffs with the No. 1-ranked defense, with a brand-name quarterback who threw for 26 touchdowns against eight picks, with solid talent at the skill positions, all within the context of an awful AFC?

Nope. Me, neither. It was a big mess, deserving of massive and widespread blame.

But that still won‘t stop me from saying this: No one, not any player or coach or executive, let down these 2012 Steelers more than one LaMarr Dewayne Woodley.

And it might not be close.

After yet another afternoon of being engulfed by whatever warm body was playing right tackle for the opponent — zero sacks, five tackles, zero everything else — Woodley finished his season with a grand total of four sacks.

None after Nov. 18.

None in his final 204 snaps.

Forget his other numbers, none of which were any good anyway. Sacks are Woodley‘s game. That‘s how he earned that six-year, $61.5 million extension last summer, by recording 11.5, 13.5, 10 and 9 the previous four seasons. The guy was an undeniable, often unstoppable force.

Take that element out of the defense, and it‘s a whole lot easier to explain the paltry 20 defensive takeaways, which, to my mind, best defined these Steelers‘ shortcomings as a whole: They scared no one. If you seldom put any opponent outside its comfort zone, even Oakland, Tennessee, San Diego and Cleveland can hang around long enough to bite you.

Tomlin had to know he wouldn‘t get the classic James Harrison at the other outside linebacker spot, given Harrison being 34 and coming off knee surgery. But the coach had every right to expect so much more from Woodley, in his prime at 28 and — presumably, anyway — fully recovered from his long-nagging hamstring trouble. He had every right to expect a star.

It never materialized, barely even in a spurt or two.

In fact, to watch how Woodley plodded about the field almost all season, it‘s fair to wonder if it wasn‘t more than the hamstring or a wobbly ankle that was — ahem — weighing him down.

I approached Woodley after this game to ask about his conditioning and much more, but upon being asked, he silently declined and left the room.

Oh, well.

I turned instead to Ziggy Hood, the defensive end who has long lined up next to Woodley.

“There‘s more to LaMarr‘s sacks than just him,” Hood said. “He didn‘t start off healthy and … some plays, you just don‘t get there. There were some games he played well and just wasn‘t blessed with the opportunity to make a play. I wouldn‘t say he had a down year. He played well when he had a chance.”

Woodley isn‘t an easy read. Never has been.

He‘s visibly passionate about his work, even sharing that intimately with his Facebook and Twitter followers. On the day he signed that big contract, he tweeted, “Drafted here … super bowl here ... will retire here!! now time to get u this 7th trophy!!!!”

But it‘s equally apparent that there isn‘t exactly a wealth of self-accountability going on. To hear Woodley tell it, his next bad game will be his first. If he isn‘t getting sacks, it‘s because he‘s dropping into coverage. Or being double-teamed. Or hurt.

Friday night, on a weekly radio show he does with Emmanuel Sanders, Woodley railed against the media, mostly for attaching his contract to his name when criticizing him.

Really?

It‘s only occurring to him now that being paid like a franchise player would raise expectations?

Look, Harrison might or might not be back. I think he will, albeit with a big pay cut. But Woodley definitely will return. It‘s incumbent on him and the coaching staff and the conditioning folks to get him all the way back.

No more explanations for anything less.

No more excuses.

If that doesn‘t happen, don‘t expect this defense — or the Steelers‘ results as a whole — to differ much in 2013.

http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/3213044-74/woodley-sacks-steelers#axzz2GgPgcFX3