Hartwig starting

[Iron Shiek]

Posted on Pro Football weekly...


Hartwig seizes starting center job

Aug. 22, 2008


The Steelers’ search for a starting center is over, the way we hear it. Sources say Justin Hartwig appears to be the winner of a position battle with Sean Mahan and will top the depth chart in Week One of the regular season. Hartwig, who was released by the Panthers after last season, looks like a stronger, bigger option with a better base. Word is he has a sound understanding of the playbook and has gained the faith of OL coach Larry Zierlein. Center was the only position on the O-line in which there was a battle for a starting role, so Pittsburgh finally can move forward with full knowledge of its front five in the remaining weeks before the season opener. While Mahan is relegated to backup duty for now, it might not be for long. Hartwig battled injuries throughout his two-year stint in Carolina, appearing in just 17 games.

[SteelTorch]

If that's true, then...HOORAY!!!!



Now let's hope he stays healthy. *knocks on wood*

[NKySteeler]

Better late than never... It's a good move to do this now, opposed to the end of camp... The starting line now has two pre-season games to work together and gel before the season starts...

Did anyone really think we would sign him to sit on the bench?

[Shawn]

This very good news.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The headline should have read:

"Hartwig named starting center; Riot of 65,000 fans on 9-7-08 averted."

[Shawn]

The headline should have read:

"Hartwig named starting center; Riot of 65,000 fans on 9-7-08 averted."

Yea...no kidding.

[NKySteeler]

The headline should have read:

"Hartwig named starting center; Riot of 65,000 fans on 9-7-08 averted."

Yea...no kidding.

...I'm almost "upset" that they took this long to name him the starter. I mean, what was the delay?... Let Mahan concentrate on being a backup at guard for crying out loud! (and backup center too, for that matter...) But we picked up Hartwig for a reason. That reason is because he's better than Mahan. ... Well, at least they have SOME time to work together in real-time game situations before it really counts, unlike last year. And that is a good thing...

[fordfixer]

The headline should have read:

"Hartwig named starting center; Riot of 65,000 fans on 9-7-08 averted."

Yea...no kidding.

...I'm almost "upset" that they took this long to name him the starter. I mean, what was the delay?... Let Mahan concentrate on being a backup at guard for crying out loud! (and backup center too, for that matter...) But we picked up Hartwig for a reason. That reason is because he's better than Mahan. ... Well, at least they have SOME time to work together in real-time game situations before it really counts, unlike last year. And that is a good thing...

[RuthlessBurgher]

The headline should have read:

"Hartwig named starting center; Riot of 65,000 fans on 9-7-08 averted."

Yea...no kidding.

...I'm almost "upset" that they took this long to name him the starter. I mean, what was the delay?... Let Mahan concentrate on being a backup at guard for crying out loud! (and backup center too, for that matter...) But we picked up Hartwig for a reason. That reason is because he's better than Mahan. ... Well, at least they have SOME time to work together in real-time game situations before it really counts, unlike last year. And that is a good thing...

I don't think it was a big deal. Tomlin pre-determined that he would give each of them a pre-season start, and since Mahan was the incumbant, he got the first game, and the new guy got the second game. It was smart to make Hartwig realize that he would have to complete to earn his starting spot; it would not just be given to him. But basically, Hartwig has been running with the 1's ever since the Eagle game ended, when they started practicing for the Buffalo game. He's been working with the starting unit for almost 2 weeks now, even though it was not officially announced until today. I'm not worried about cohesion. The final decision of Smith-Kemo-Hartwig-Simmons-Colon is not a bad starting unit. They won't be dominant by any means, but if they can manage to be simply adequate, this will be one heck of an offense with all those weapons.

[NKySteeler]

The final decision of Smith-Kemo-Hartwig-Simmons-Colon is not a bad starting unit. They won't be dominant by any means, but if they can manage to be simply adequate, this will be one heck of an offense with all those weapons.

Protection, protection, protection..... I hope you're right. They need to work well TOGETHER to protect Ben and be successful.