Draft Countdown! DRAFT DAY!

I’m still salty about this, but not NEARLY as much as Hilton is. Every time we play him it seems like a revenge game for the dude. I think he felt very stung that they let him go.

 

Good question. While Ward is kinda my all time favorite Steeler and kinda statistically worthy, it was combined with his down-for-it fight that I just got caught up in. Dude was a soldier for his squad. Especially against the hated Ravens and Bungle teams of the mid-2000’s. His effort was just so damn apparent and it made me love the guy and his smile. I read once that every training camp he hand wrote his jersey number on tape on his helmet, because he went there with the mind set that he didn’t have his roster spot in stone and had to earn it for himself every year. That small little thing won me over big time and was a fan for life not matter how good he was or would ever decline from that moment.

Regardless, I think it has to go to Blount. I’m gonna bet the vast majority of The Nation will vote this way too. He was just too dominant.

Mel was a sure fire hall of famer and while Ward is on the fence or not worthy from a lot of people he is for me. I so very much want him to develop into a great coach and come back home. Dude has a special place for me and nothing would be better than to have him on the sidelines. His message will get through and land with the higher character guys he coaches.

 

Hilton did not sign for huge money when he left, but as I recall that was the year the CAP actually shrunk and the Steelers were way over that amount. They restructured and even Ben took less to get them under. I know there are ways to basically get anyone signed, but the short term needs to be evaluated against the long term. You can push CAP dollars and manage it to a point, but eventually it all comes due. You can even say that some of our management was in error, but that is the risks you take when re-signing aging players and constant restructuring.

 

Most of players in todays society couldn't grasp what Hines Ward would try to deliver in his messaging. The few that do get it would probably elevate their game 10% or more which could be the difference between success and failure in the Pro's.

This is not to say that most of these athletes are ignorant, it's just that they sometimes believe their hardest work is already behind them and now it's time to receive the financial benefits.

Obviously I'm a huge HW fan but Mel Blount really did take everything to the next level and that includes off the field as well BIG TIME!

 

It is crazy that when you look at Jarvis's tape which a bunch of board members did and then pointed the rest of us to it that you see a guy who wasn't some super talented athletic freak but rather a high motor guy who never gave up on a play and yet the coaching staff didn't see that. I mean he blew past lesser talented guys in college but wasn't blowing plays up before they started. lots of chasing plays down from the backside.

 

Mel Blount, my friends call me soup, short for SUPER.
Hines was a heckuva player but not in Blounts league.

 

Sure would have been fun to see the two line up against each other. Two physical dudes right there.

 

And why I’m still salty about (in this aspect not at, but about) Tuitt. He got paid (and STILL IS for cryin out loud) while highly valuable players couldn’t.

Then my ire against Tuitt shifts towards other related topics. But there is no need for me stoke that fire again. It was just kinda relevant here.

 

I love(d) Aaron Smith. One of the long list of well respected but not flashy or house hold name greats the Steelers have had for years. Even jerk face Bill Belicheat had praised him in the press about what a problem he was.

He’s up there with guys like Hoke, Hope, and Carnell Lake as stud roll players without much acclaim.

 

To me it looked more like opportunistic sack by staying with the play where the QB ran to him, was funnels to him or had no where to go. Maybe gray coverage sacks too.

Basically, I didn’t see him creating a lot of the splash, but just a part of it and recipient of something happening a second or so before him.

 

I actually thought of him when I looked at the past and current CAP charts, specifically the dead cap hits. Not trying to stoke that fire, but it did get me to thinking. This is not only about Tuitt, but the others. When they take a re-structure on their deal it helps both parties, the team gets more CAP room to work with, the player gets money that was not necessarily guaranteed in the contract. We can moan and complain about the players, but who wouldn't take that offer? It is a part of the risk/reward system the teams work with in the CAP age. Unlike the other leagues with loose Caps and already guaranteed contracts, the NFL players have few opportunities, especially at a certain point to get that contract cash. If a team wants to cut them and the contract states millions owed, only if on the team on a certain date then it's only worth the paper it is written on. Tuitt's may be an outlier in the opposite direction, but teams make no bones about cutting someone with a huge contract if it serves them best.

 

I remember reading an old article about Stallworth...He was in an All Star Game, And the Steelers Coaches, were the Coaches of his team...So the Steelers had him play DB instead of WR, because the Steelers really wanted him...

So he played DB, and played like S*** lol

 

Noll actually wanted to draft him in the first round but was assured he’d be there later. Then our scouting department misplaced his tape and was unable to forward to the next team. Honest mistake I’m sure.

 

As I’ve said often, Ward may not be one of the greatest receivers of all time, but he’s dang sure one of the greatest FOOTBALL PLAYERS of all time!

 

Gotta go with Blount, but Ward is also one of my all-time favorites

 

Burns always struck me as a panic move too. I have nothing to base that on really it just always felt that way to me.

 

The few times Colbert drafted based on need instead of BPA, He got burned imo...

Troy Edwards...
Burns...
Edmonds...

Are the ones that come to mind

 

Bush was the biggest burn, if for no other reason than what we gave up for him.

 

I recall reading Noll actually wanted to take him 1st, was persuaded to take Swann, then he was still there in the 4th. I don't know the accuracy of that memory, but if true shows Nolls and the staff's instincts and depth on the players they scouted.

 

People that know the game, and the way We used A. Smith in the 3-4 then would put Him in the HOF. He was that integral to our D then. I was always sad He didn't get more praise.

 

Two of those things are not like the others. Lake made five Pro Bowls and was named first or second-team All-Pro four of those seasons.

Smith was a starter, a guy who should have been in the Pro Bowl consistently, but he was competing against edge rushers in the vote. He was much better than Hope, a middling starter for two seasons, and Hoke, who was primarily a backup.

 

That is the story, though it has never been officially confirmed. Noll was right in his evaluation of Stallworth, but he had to realize they could also get Swann if they waited.

 

Smith was a great player and vastly underrated outside of Pittsburgh, but you are correct. It has to be Stallworth.

Maybe do one list with the Steelers of the '70s and one without.