#3 Safety Spot Is Robert Golden's To Lose

Just thought this was an interesting article. I liked Golden last year, but I didn't realize the coaches and other players thought so much of him. I assumed that the race for backup safety would be the kind where the rookie draft pick is technically at the bottom of the depth chart to start the offseason, but everyone knows the job is really theirs to lose - like how Le'Veon Bell is really the one with the head start at RB, despite being officially behind Redman and Dwyer, and maybe Batch. After all, Shamarko Thomas was drafted with a 3rd round pick. That's a guy you expect to see the field.

But it appears they like Golden enough to really go with him, and Shamarko will have to consistently outplay him before he gets the job. So it's closer to Jarvis Jones trying to unseat Worilds than it is Bell trying to unseat Dwyer/Redman.

http://pit.scout.com/2/1295452.html

 

he can't be worst than mundy

 

Let's hope he is the real deal. That would make me feel a lot better.

 

Defense is still the place where we will need to continue to make improvements at in order to get younger.

Foote (32) - Spence, assuming he can play, and Williams may be options

Troy (32) - Shamarko and Golden are options

Clark (33) - Shamarko and Golden are options

Ike (33) - Hawthorne and Brown both would be options

Keisel (34) - Heyward is an option, but Hood must also have success

 

You would think Shamarko would see the field...keep in mind though he is a 4th round pick in a weak draft class. And also keep in mind 3rd round picks like Curtis Brown really haven't seen the field at all after 3 years. My point is Shamarko is not a sure thing.

Steelers traded up for him, but he is far from Troy P.

I think Golden has a chance to do well here...it all depends how much he improves from last year to this year. He has good instincts and athleticism. You could tell he was a little hesitant last year because he was learning the defense. Once he gets it down he could really excel here.

He seems more Clarks spot though, where as Shamarko seems more like Troy's position. I can't say they are in direct competition.

 

I agree about Thomas being more SS and Golden being more FS, but they probably are in direct competition to be top backup. Troy and Clark can both play both positions, so if one of them goes down, the team could slide the other over, and then the team plugs in the best backup available and whichever spot they are best at. Ideally the backup can play both, like Mundy, or you have a good backup at each position, which is what will happen if both these guys play well. But we don't know yet what we have. We don't know how ready they'll be.

 

ultimately, golden will be the fs of the future, and shamarko will be the ss, but this season is basically going to be a learning experience for shamarko...........
I've been singing golden's praises since last pre-season, and throughout the regular season and off-season. he seemed to pick up the defense extremely quickly, and was rarely out of position while showing a nose for the ball. he's a sure tackler and will be a pleasant surprise for many on this board. I love the direction our secondary is going in.

 

let's not forget cromartie-smith. he's been looking decent in shorts and taking reps too. he's been here awhile and should know this defense better then either golden or thomas. jerrod holley,ross ventrone. we have some players to compete. just mostly young.

golden is a good player that fell in our laps as an UDFA. i was suprised he wasen't drafted. what hurt him most was jumping from CB to S in arizona. he was ranked as an early 6th by most but went undrafted. good for us.

camp is going to be fun this year.

 

I know you like DCS and I wanted to work him into that post, but I just couldn't make it happen. I like him too, but I think his ceiling is just lower than Golden's and Thomas's.Especially when it comes to coverage. But as it is, I'm betting DCS is #4, so Shammy will have to leap him as well.

 

i actually thought he should have beaten mundy out two years ago in preseason, then he seemed to take a step back last year. i read somewhere he was running the 2nd unit with golden. it suprises me about his coverage, since he , like golden played cb and safety in college. they may keep 5. they have done so in the past.

 

We shall see?

 

On a side note, are as many people really concerned with age as some of the posters seem to be? I'm not but that is just my opinion. For example, look at the level Ray Ray was playing at until this last season. I don't care what anyone says, that defense will never be the same without him. Same as ours will never be the same without Troy. I'm not saying they can't be better, just not the same. Personally, I like a good mix of age on my team. Obviously, I don't think they should be out on the field on their hoverounds but some guys play pretty well as they get older.

 

i could see clark and keisel extended, and i wouldn't have a problem with that.

 

I would extend Clark, of course on Steeler terms. Kiesel I would not.

 

Unless Keisel is taking a large pay cut, I regretfully agree.

 

The sad part is, Keisel could play another 2 years or so if he was willing to change his role. Become a backup and keep playing the game you love. It is a hard thing to swallow your pride though, so if he doesn't do that, it won't surprise me.

 

Absolutely. I love him, but he's no Aaron Smith. He's not so good, like Aaron, that we simply cannot take him off the field, even if it means leaving our #1 draft pick on the bench. In 2011 he was, but last year he just wasn't. I don't see him improving at age 34. I think it's time we get Heyward out there and rotate Keisel.

In a perfect world I'd put him back where he started, on special teams. He was a total beast, running down punt returners at 285 lbs. He won't be as fast now, but he's still pretty fast. Too bad that's a change nobody ever makes toward the end of their career.

 

I wouldn't extend either one of them Clark is 34 and he can't cover but good in run support the NFL is a passing league Kiesel no it's time to see what Heyward can do, the defense needs to get younger.

 

Can't cover? Tell me, in your opinion, did Ryan Clark recently lose the ability to cover? Or has he never been able to cover?

 

keisel had 3 times the qb hurries as anyone on the defense last year. why not re-sign him or extend him? just to see if heyward can or can't? you go with the sure horse in that case. change heyward with ziggy if you want to find out. you don't just dump guys that still produce at a high level for change sake.

 

I'm not saying Keisel is done or anything, but for a guy his age, a dropoff in performance without special circumstances is usually pretty telling. And he had a pretty sizeable dropoff from 2011 to 2012. Cam and Ziggy are getting better, and he's getting worse. I'm not saying cut ties with him, but be prepared to if necessary. I think Heyward's looked promising. If it came down to Keisel or Cam, you gotta go with Cam.

As for what to do with them this year, I say split reps evenly among the three, in base defense as well as nickel.

 

i sure don't see this dropoff your talking about.

09: 54 tackles ,3 sacks.
10: 33 tackles, 3 sacks.missed some games with injury.
11: 48 tackles, 3 sacks.
12: 46 tackles, 4.5 sacks, plus led the team in pressures.

 

Keisel also shined as a situation pass rusher on 3rd downs in his early days before starting.... He was a bit slimmer then because he mainly played special teams....

 

That's because you're looking at a list of numbers. It was on a football field, on television, about 6-10 months ago.