THIS SORTA ILLUSTRATES MY POINT...

The Steelers named their 2008 Rookie of the Year today, and it was (drum roll, please)....linebacker Patrick Bailey, an undrafted rookie from Duke who's third on the team with 12 special teams tackles. From what I can see, he's the first undrafted player to win the award since its inception in 1984.Like I said in the day-after wrap-up on Monday, this was a rough year for the Steeler draft class, with two picks landing on injured reserve, one on the practice squad, three that don't dress, and one that dresses but has limited game action.It just goes to show you how tremendous of a job the veteran roster has done in a season that's seen rookie contributions for contenders all around the league. It also illustrates how deep the Steelers are from the standpoint that they don't absolutely have to plug rookies into the lineup (although having Mendenhall would sure be sweet in those goal-line situations). That said, I can't wait to see what some of these guys can do...