Monthly Archives: April 2014

steelers draft

Former Miami OT Seantrel Henderson Has Pre-Draft Visit Scheduled

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According to Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun-Sentinel, Seantrel Henderson has a pre-draft visit scheduled with the Steelers.

Henderson was one of the country’s top recruits coming out of high school in 2010. Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to the hype. He was suspended multiple times at Miami for violating team rules, and his play on the field was never dominant. The 6’7, 331 lb mountain of a man also was hampered by back injuries during his college career.

Henderson split time between right and left tackle last season, and has great size and length to play at either side. Despite his size, he still gets beat in situations you wouldn’t expect him to. Also, his hand work needs a lot of improvement. To make matters worse, some reporters said he “quit” at his pro day today.

Henderson did not speak to media after the event. His agent addressed reporters, telling them that he was dehydrated and began to feel ill. Even though his stock has continued to slip, it seems unlikely to me that the Steelers will take a chance on him, even in the later rounds. His character flags have reportedly caused other teams to take him off their draft boards.

Here are a couple Miami games that highlight the tackle’s performance. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0xy3ZpozCzY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t4hl__3-XVA

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Titans Sign Former Steelers G/C Eric Olsen

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The Tennessee Titans have signed former Steelers C/G Eric Olsen to a one year deal according to The Tennessean.


Olsen was the Steelers only exclusive rights free agent. They did not offer him a tender. Olsen was signed by the team last November, after being released by the Saints in September. The offensive lineman was originally drafted by the Broncos in the 6th round of the 2010 draft.

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Steelers Sign WR Darrius Heyward-Bey

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The Steelers announce that they have signed WR Darrius Heyward-Bey to a one year deal today.

It was reported earlier that the team would be hosting him for a workout. Heyward-Bey was signed by the Colts last year to a one year, $3 Mil deal. He struggled with injuries throughout the season, and also with showing reliable hands. The former Raiders first round pick has 69 career receptions totaling 2,380 yards, including 12 touchdowns.

While the terms of the deal obviously haven’t been disclosed yet, it would not surprise me if it were for the vet minimum with a small $65,000 signing bonus. It may be more than that, though. He was the fastest receiver in the 2009 draft class. He ran a 4.23 in 2006 in Maryland, and ran a 4.30 at the combine.

Darrius Heyward-Bey 40 yard dash.

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Steelers Reportedly Hosting WR Darrius Heyward-Bey Today

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The Steelers will be hosting former Colts wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey today, according to Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette. Heyward-Bey was drafted by the Raiders in the first round of the 2009 draft. The Indianapolis Colts signed him to a one year, $3 Mil deal last spring. The 6’2″, 219 lb receiver saw a little more than half of the Colts’ offensive snaps last season. He was plagued by injuries throughout the 2013 season, but lacked reliable hands at times when he was on the field.

According to ProFootballFocus, the veteran wide receiver had 9 drops last year. He caught 29 of the 58 passes that went his way, and recorded 1 touchdown.  Heyward-Bey has 69 career receptions totaling 2,380 yards, including 12 touchdowns. The Steelers are thin in terms of wide receiver depth, and thinner on cap space. While his hands might be questionable, the team will be looking to add low cost veteran wide receiver depth before the draft next month.

steelers draft

Former OSU LB Ryan Shazier Had Pre-Draft Visit With The Steelers

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Former Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier was on SiriusXM NFL tonight and told Alex Marvez that he had a pre-draft visit with the Steelers.


If you’re not familiar with him, Shazier is an extremely athletic and versatile linebacker who can play both outside and inside. He’s got a very high football IQ, and it wouldn’t surprise me (or really disappoint me) if the Steelers picked him at #15. If you’re still with me, and aren’t totally focused on that mainstream mock you read the other day that had the Steelers picking Justin Gilbert, well, gold star for you then.

Shazier was named First-team All-American, First-team All-Big Ten, and finished with 144 tackles, seven sacks, 23.5 tackles for a loss, six QB hurries, and four forced fumbles in 2013. Watching his game tape, you will never see him take off a play. Even on special teams. Here he is blocking a punt with Bradley Roby against Northwestern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KLBnR46peVY

The former OSU standout could play in any defensive scheme in my opinion, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a 4-3 team was interested in him as a Will linebacker. He didn’t run the 40 at the combine due to a hamstring injury, but was clocked at an unofficial 4.37 at Ohio State’s pro day.

In Pittsburgh’s scheme, he’d play predominately on the inside. He is very good in coverage, and plays against the run very well, where his closing speed comes in handy. I’ll close out with a couple games of him in action for you, and with a gif of the “Shazier Suplex”. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6F-T3UCL-fE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l74vuXXrNq0

David Decastro contract

Contract Details For LeGarrette Blount And Brice McCain

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The Steelers signed CB Brice McCain today. The deal was for one year at the vet minimum, including a $65,000 signing bonus. I can also give you the specific contract details for LeGarrette Blount, who signed with the Steelers last week, as well as a salary cap update that you likely won’t get anywhere else.

[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“McCain, Brice”, 2014, “$730,000”, “$65,000”, “$635,000”

[/table]

McCain’s contract qualifies for the veteran minimum salary benefit, so his base salary will only count against the cap the same as a 2nd year player’s minimum salary would- $570,000. After displacement on the top 51, his addition will only move the salary cap needle by $140,000.

LeGarrette Blount’s 2 year deal can be seen below. His 2014 cap number is $1.375 Mil.
[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“Blount, LeGarrette”, 2014, “$900,000”, “$475,000”, “$1,375,000”

“Blount, LeGarrette”, 2015, “$2,000,000”, “$475,000”, “$2,475,000”

[/table]
His signing displaced the top 51 cap number by $880,000. The Steelers had approximately $1.4 Mil in salary cap space before signing Blount on Friday. I know…you’re probably saying, “Steve, you’re wrong. So and so said it was $1 million!” The number that most people are using is from the NFLPA’s public spreadsheet. That number hasn’t been accurate for a while.

The NFL and NFLPA often don’t have matching salary cap numbers, and the NFLPA’s is not official. One major discrepancy is the way in which the NFLPA accounts for players who are designated June 1st cuts. With that out of the way, let’s wrap this up. After the signing of Blount and McClain, the team should be sitting roughly $380,000 under the cap by my calculations.

As you’ve likely realized, the team has enough cap room to sign another veteran for the minimum if they want to, without having to make moves to clear space. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

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Steelers Sign Former Texans CB Brice McCain

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The Steelers have signed free agent CB Brice McCain according to his agent on Twitter.

I reported earlier that McCain was in for a meeting with the Steelers today. The former Texans cornerback played in 16 games for Houston last year, and recorded 1 interception and 32 tackles. McCain was ranked last by ProFootballFocus last year, mainly due to his poor grades in pass coverage.

You must take their rankings with a grain of salt, though. The Houston Texans defense was PFF’s 6th worst ranked pass defense. Do you think that was because of the guy who started 4 games last year? (I hope you said no).

The signing of McCain is a low risk move to bolster depth. He’ll be an insurance policy who will compete for a job covering the slot. He also contributed on special teams during his 4 years with the Texans. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

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Steelers Hosting Free Agent CB Brice McCain Today

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The Steelers are hosting street free agent cornerback Brice McCain today according to multiple media outlets.

McCain was released by the Houston Texans three weeks ago mainly for cap savings purposes. He was drafted by the Texans in the 6th round of the 2009 draft. Primarily a nickel corner, he played in 72 games totaling 5 interceptions and 111 tackles.

The 26 year old McCain is 5’9″ and weighs 182 lbs. While he’s not exactly a special teams specialist, he did contribute there as well. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

steelers draft

Former Ohio State CB Bradley Roby To Visit With The Steelers

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Former Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby was on SiriusXM NFL tonight and told Gil Brandt that he has a visit lined up with the Steelers.

While you mostly hear about Dennard and Gilbert, Roby is a corner who is likely very high on the Steelers radar. In 2012, he was being compared to top tier cornerbacks. In 2013, not so much. Roby possesses good size at 5’11, 194 lbs, and he displays very good speed. His official combine 40 time was a 4.39. He looks even faster on tape at times. A couple concerns about Roby are his very high burn rate in 2013, and the frequency at which he fails to wrap his man up.

Greg Peshek of Rotoworld charted out the top CBs of this year’s draft. While stats aren’t the be-all end-all, they’re a useful tool for evaluating certain aspects of a player’s overall performance. As you can see in the chart below, Roby has the worst PD rate (passes defensed) out of the group. Basically, he got his hand on the ball 1 in 5 targets. As a comparison, Verrett- 1 in 3.

TriCBs

Also concerning is how high his burn rate is. In his defense, Ohio State’s scheme played a part in that number. Having voiced those concerns, I will say that Roby is one of the more well-rounded corners in this class, and I do think he’ll be successful in the NFL. In terms of “Steelers cornerbacks”, he has many traits that they covet. He’s fast, he’s a strong run supporter, and he’s played in a variety of coverages.

In 2013 he had 63 tackles, 3 INT, 13 pass break ups, and 2 blocked punts.

Here are a couple games if you haven’t seen him in action. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tMjNxhpHFeM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Whr1Cr9TW-M