Monday’s Daily Five: Steelers should explore LaMarr Woodley’s trade value

1. People might think I’m crazy but I strongly believe LaMarr Woodley is finished as a premier pass rusher. He wouldn’t be the first star linebacker to lose his explosiveness into his late 20’s with hamstring issues. Woodley turns 29 in November and you know what Bill Belichick would do with an overpaid, underperforming player; Ship him out of town. I’ll reveal indepth on Wednesday on what the Steelers should do this off-season and I’ll explain why the Steelers should try to move LaMarr Woodley for a second round pick. On Friday I will have a feature up on what the Steelers will probably do (not what I think they should).

Vegas loves the Penguins — Bodog and Bovada has the Penguins listed as the Stanley Cup favorites with 8/1 odds. I’m not drinking the kool-aid and I like the Rangers or Boston to come out of the East.

Let’s not make Penn State coach Bill O’Brien out to be a saint. I don’t have a big problem with him interviewing with NFL teams (because this is how the system works now) and it’s smart for him to get that experience, but he has an agent in Joe Linta who knows what he’s doing and this was clearly a calculated move to get more money. If O’Brien declined these interviews, then he would deserve to be praised in this landscape, but I just can’t stand how these schools cave and give coaches more money and power when they interview with another team. If you’re a Penn State fan, wouldn’t you have rather see O’Brien leave now then leave in a year or two, which could be very well be his plan and possible scenario to play out. O’Brien though is in a great spot for his career. He’s coveted by NFL teams but if he stays in Penn State longterm and turns them around, he will be an icon there.

4. The debate is on-going about Mike Shanahan’s handling of RGIII yesterday in the Redskins playoff loss to the Seahawks. It was clear RGIII should not have been out there but I bet most coaches would have left him in there, Mike Tomlin being one of them. Coaches always stick with these guys (star QB’s) even if their injury is detrimental to a particular game. Tomlin did it with Roethlisberger vs San Francisco in 2011.

5. Wildcard weekend went about as expected with Texans, Ravens, Packers, and Seahawks advancing. I thought the Bengals would go in and pull out a close one in Houston but it’s become clear that Andy Dalton actually regressed this season, despite taking the Bengals to playoffs for second straight year. Out of the teams who advanced this weekend, the Packers look like the only legitimate Super Bowl contender but I wouldn’t rule out Seattle pulling off upset in Atlanta. Good luck to Baltimore in Denver and Houston going to New England.