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The transition for the defense is officially underway. First off, Monday the team made the release of Larry Foote official. It’s a shame that Foote couldn’t see the forest through the trees. He’s on one of the best defenses the league has seen in sometime, and has two a pair of Super Bowls with the club.

So what does he want – more playing time. Hey, he’s a competitor, and I can understand that, but the bottom line is that the combo of Foote and Larry Timmons is better than just Timmons, and losing him is going to hurt, but in the end, it’s what he wanted. It’s not the Steeler way to keep an unhappy player on the roster, and that’s why they let him go.

Another issue is that of the teams defensive line. James Walker of ESPN spoke to starting defensive end Brett Keisel over the weekend, and so far there’s been no contract discussions with the team to date. His deal is up after the 2009 season, and you have to wonder if this will be his last year with the club with Evander Hood waiting in the wings.

The team has a number of players that will be free agents in 2010 – Casey Hampton, safety Ryan Clark, tailback Willie Parker and left tackle Max Starks. They have to choose who to make offers to wisely, and with Hood now around, you have to wonder if Keisel will be one of those names on the list to get an offer to stick around.