What to believe?

After watching the Haley presser he said something that I thought I misunderstood so I watched it again and, nope, I heard him say the team drafts best player available rather than draft for need. My question to you is this, if Haley is correct then how lucky can one get that you have Harrison leave and end up with the supposed best linebacker in the draft and in the second we end up with a RB that we all know needed to be addressed? Is it that they draft the best player available in the position they are looking for? Is it really best player available at that time regardless of position? I read the "more of the same" post and it appears that we did get more of the same but hearing Haley say that seem kind of strange when you look at the picks.

 

Yeah, this is the one pick I am not satisfied with. If Eddie Lacy goes on and has a huge career and Bell becomes another Mendy, then the Tomlin-Colbert team needs to feel the heat.

 

I'm guessing the BPA thing is a hybrid. There are a lot of guys out there and maybe you have 3 who are available with the current highest rating, say an 85. Then you take the one who fills a need, but by rating, they are still BPA. Just a thought.

 

Steelers met Jones and Bell out individually in the pre-draft process, they decided weeks ago they would draft those 2.

I thought Bell was a reach, but right after Steelers pick the rest of the RB's were being taken. Its hard to say if he would have lasted until the 3rd. Going into the draft I thought 3rd round was best value for Bell though...

 

I believe that Bell is going to have a better career than Lacy, Dont ask me why, just a hunch .i have.. The kid was way to productive to not be a good running back, L acy seems like he may have benifted from the team he was on....

 

Lacy and Ball were playing behind better o-lines than Bell. You could park a F350 sideways in the holes that those 2 were running through. Bell was running through holes that only a Bike could fit in.

 

This.

 

I think that was the knock on eddie and its true. He was behind an nfl line. I mean everyone on it will go pro. I think this was a tomlin pick. He fell in love with him at the pro day or thats what it sounded like. To me its all about the oline so i dont care who the back is as long as he can hold on to the ball. I think bell excels in that area

 

12 I like Bell better than Lacy always have. Lacy was running behind an NFL line. I think three of those linemen got drafted. No MS linenmen went I think
Course Bell and me share the same last name, I MAY be a tad bit bias

 

Great minds think alike steel. Didn't see your post before I answered 12.

 

The Steelers said they went by their draft board they had Bell rated higher than any receiver at that point DeAndre Hopkins was gone and Lacy toe injury worried the team.

 

Bingo!

BPA means best player on the Steelers board, not necessarily who the media and scouts determine to be the best. Now the Steelers board will take into account need, so 2 players of equal talent, one being a QB and one being a RB, the RB is going to get the higher mark as it's a position of need. There's more than just talent that determines BPA. What Haley means is that the Steelers are going to take the top player remaining on their draft board regardless of need. If it so happens that a QB is tops on their list when their on the clock, then they'll take that QB. That seems to have been what happened in this draft. Now most years that won't happen as a position that's not a real need will get bumped down a bit on the Steelers board so by the time their on the clock a team in need of that position likely drafted that player already

 

By the way, there are many scouts out there who believe Bell is the best RB in this draft, Jones is the best pass rusher in this draft, the QB we took is the best QB in this draft and Shamarko is the best Safety in this draft. We'll see about all that and I doubt all 4 go on to be the top player at their position, but it's not like they were terrible picks. All those guys can play at a high level

 

Yep, this is pretty much it.

(And after all, positions don't all match up in the way that the term "Best Player Available" implies. The best kicker in the drafter is unlikely to be picked ahead of the third best QB, for example, just because.)

 

Bell had a better 2012 season than Lacey did, lacey ran for 1,182 yards behind arguably the best Oline in college: Bell ran for 1,793 yards, plus Bell caught 78 passes for 531: Thats over 2000 all purpose yards, based on the stats Bell has the biggest upside and is the bigger back, I think he fits nicely for the steelers, and just might be another great steeler back in his own right...

 

I have to believe like some here, Lacy had huge holes to run through with that great offensive line at Alabama, hard for any back with some talent not to succeed there. I think the Steelers had so much success with Bettis they were looking for another big smash mouth back who could run over defenders like Bettis, hard to get that kind of success out of your mind.

 

I did read yesterday or friday there was some kind of toe issue too (in addition to his hammy or w/e had been bothering him).

 

Bell is a Big Back who can Beat Off Defenders !

I don't know a whole lot about Lacy but I am a B1G Ohio State fan, and I like Bell, not flashy but seems like a Steeler RB. I also read that he dropped 15 lbs. to gain more quickness.

One back I haven't saw mentioned around here is Montee Ball. Is there a reason no one talked about him, or did I just miss the talk?
Mileage or Injury concerns? I really liked Ball and could see him being like a L.Tomlinson or T.Davis who is a big home run threat.
But, I am happy with Bell and hope to see him beating off defenders for years to come, like the Bus used too. We got some big boys up front so it makes sense to have a bruiser instead of a dancer. I look forward to seeing us pound the D with Bell, then bring in a fresh Dwyer and pound them some more, and then change it up with our 3rd down back Stephens-Howling, whom I think will be a good addition for us.

 

I wouldn't be too sure about that Thig. I once played fantasy football with a guy that took a KICKER in the 1st round! LOL!

 

Its why i was upset with the pick also. He was picked about 10 to 15 picks to early I think. Then again maybe the FO thought there was gonna be a run on RBs in the 2nd and there was a little so they felt like they had to pick him up. When the redskins pick a 6th RB that runs in a Zone Blocking scheme I say why waste the pick.

I like the runner just not that early. Hell play well and he fits for sure. I just wish we could have gotten Brown, then traded up in the 3rd. It would have been ideal.

 

Bottom line. You don't know till they suit up against the
big boys.