The Steelers made the splash of the week by signing cornerback Joe Haden shortly after the Cleveland Browns released him.
There are a couple of ways to look at this.
1. The Steelers were able to acquire a quality player to beef up their iffy secondary.
2. The Steelers are so concerned about their secondary that they're willing to take a chance on a guy the Browns didn't want.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The secondary could use an upgrade, and Haden is a two-time Pro Bowl player. Steelers offensive players have talked about what a difficult opponent he was.
Being discarded by the Browns is not necessarily a negative, given that franchise's long history of questionable personnel decisions. The administrators change, but the mistakes continue, like wasting a first-round draft pick on Johnny Manziel.
That was a train wreck most NFL teams spotted from a mile away, but the Browns thought an erratic, unfocused player with significant off-field issues was the man to lead their offense. By the way, quarterback shoppers, Derek Carr was available when they drafted Manziel.
But this isn't about beating up the Browns, no matter how much fun that is.
Haden comes with a certain amount of risk. He had groin surgery in the offseason, and a cornerback needs to be able to run in quick bursts.
If he's healthy, it's hard to imagine he can't help, given some of the dubious talent the Steelers have on the secondary depth chart. The front seven of the defense is fine. The line is strong, and it's encouraging that the linebacking corps seems to be less dependent on 39-year-old James Harrison. That has to be good.
The secondary needs the help, and general manager Kevin Colbert didn't waste any time, grabbing Haden for three years and $27 million.
They've addressed a weakness. We'll find out soon if they've solved the problem.
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--WEARING DOWN?
The Pirates are skipping Ivan Nova's scheduled start on Tuesday. Nova has been awful since mid-June, and Clint Hurdle thinks fatigue is an issue.
Fatigue? Could be. He's pitched 168 and 2/3 innings, already the second-highest workload in his major league career.
Nova was fine for the first two and a half months. There was even briefly talk of his being selected for the All-Star team. His three-year, $26 million contract looked like smart business.
But it's been consistently downhill since then. Can he rebound? If he doesn't, have the Pirates invested $26 million in a long reliever?
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--FINALLY ENOUGH
Sports Illustrated reported last week that FOX plans to drop Pete Rose from its postseason baseball studio team.
Rose has worked for the network for a couple of years, filling a role as a grumpy curmudgeon who entertains the other panelists with his old school observations. A bow tie and his bad dye job just add to the oddball persona.
But they'll apparently carry on without him, the result of Rose's being implicated in an inappropriate relationship with a minor. It has been alleged that during his playing career, Rose carried on a romantic relationship with a high school student. It has been reported that she was 14. Rose countered that she was 16, the age of consent in Ohio.
At the time, Rose was a 34-year-old married father of two.
So those allegations were finally the breaking point for FOX. He bet on baseball? They didn't care. He lied for more than a decade about betting on baseball? They didn't care. He operates an autograph-selling business where, for an extra fee, he'll add the wise guy inscription, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." They didn't care.
Finally there was something even FOX couldn't overlook.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
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