Randle El Already Talking

As I said in my earlier post today, I fear Antwaan Randle El could be more of a distraction than a help to the Steelers. Read these quotes from Randle El and tell me how this guy has a grasp of reality:

In an interview with the Washington Post, Randle El said, ``It's kind of like going home, yeah, that's what it feels like. Going back to where I was drafted and where my roots started. I feel pretty good about the decision. Just want to go do some damage.

``We've talked about just playing No. 3 receiver. That's all we talked about. I'm not even sure about punt return, now that I think about it. The way I always look at it, I'm going to go in and be No. 3.’’

How in the world does Randle El think he is going to come in and be the #3 WR in Pittsburgh? I also cannot understand why Pittsburgh would communicate this to him in any capacity, if his statement is accurate. Santonio and Hines are clearly the starters, and I would assume Randle El is recognizing this by his #3 comments, and unless I am crazy Mike Wallace established himself quite nicely as the Steelers' 3rd WR and deep threat.

For comparisons sake, Wallace had 39 catches for 756 yards (a 19.4 yards per catch average) and 6 touchdowns in 2009 as he assimilated himself to the pro game. Randle El, on the other hand, had 50 catches for 530 yards (a measley 10.6 ypc) and 0 touchdowns! In case you were wondering, Randle El has never had 756 yards in a single season (728 was his career high 3 years ago), has never had more than 4 touchdowns, and his highest yards per catch in a season was 15.9 in his last season with Pittsburgh. In case you thought Randle El was some great run after catch guy, his career 3.8 YAC (yards after catch) barely outdoes what Wallace did as a rookie, 3.4 YAC.

I know Antwaan was a popular player the last time he was here, and I know some Steelers fans are excited to have him back, but I just hope that Randle El does not do more harm than good in his second stint in a Steelers uniform by failing to recognize his role on the team.