Can we really depend on Shamarko?

I loved the kid when they drafted him,but he has been here three years. Work out warrior, can't seem to stay healthy.No production,We will need him to really up his game
if we are to compete at a high level.

 

No we can't . He was a healthy scratch when we needed a starter . I don't think he will ever be a good starter

 

I wonder the same. When the FS spot opened up, I thought he'd get a crack at it, but he didn't. Then I thought "well he's really a SS", but when Troy was out, it was Will Allen getting the start, and Will Allen is no pro bowler or Steelers legend. In fact, according to Football Outsiders, Shamarko Thomas played only 3 defensive snaps all season.

 

I don't think we can really depend on him, but I don't think we also give up hope on him.

It was a weird season for him, injured again, and having troy around doing his thing and signing Mitchell and Allen. Then when he finally gets healthy we are in the thick of the playoff race and we all know our coaches love to rely on veterans, so the chance of an unproven Shamarko playing greatly diminished. He clearly brings the most athleticism in the safety group, so if he can stay healthy through training camp/preseason, I think he's our starting SS. I feel the only thing that can hold him back at this point are injuries.

 

they talked about his injuries overlapping when troy got hurt. you only have so many days during the week to get ready for the next game. the reason allen got the start was because of practice time and practice time missed. the downfall was relying on allen because he knew the defense better and them not just throwing Thomas out there to just play. they opted for less athleticism and more knowledge. big mistake I think. what I really don't understand is golden being kept and not being used. you can find ST's players and golden has brought nothing besides that. then we tendered him again. really? why?

 

special teams .. golden and thomas are still
here for their special team plays .. now if they develope better , but right now the only things they are good
is on special team

 

Yeah but you see, there's a reason why we signed Mitchell and re-signed Will Allen. They didn't trust Shamarko to either start at FS, or even to be the backup SS. It's a lot like the Golden situation. I don't know if you remember a couple of years back when he was getting talked up as the guy that was going to replace Clark ... and now we don't even trust him to get the coffee and donuts for defensive meetings.

Shamarko played 3 defensive snaps all season, and Golden played 4. Those are supposedly our up and coming young talent at the two safety spots.

And now Troy is at the end of the line, our big investment to replace Clark looks like he sucks, and our top backup at both spots turns 33 years old in June.


I think I'll go cut myself now.

 

Big question mark here. I just didn't get why he did not play even a couple of defensive series to see what he has. Also think that was a mistake to not give him hardly any playing time. Even to just get his feet wet a little.

 

he showed he could play his rookie year. he can cover. they went with will allen because DL liked vets and MT loves will allen. they sure didn't want to bench their newly acquired big FA signing either. Thomas missed too much practice time. he will play this year, but they better find a better backup than will allen or Robert golden. I do believe they are putting some hopes into lewis and darby for that.

 

He will get a chance and hope first he stays healthy and excels. But, they need a back up plan if he gets nicked or just can't handle the spotlight ala Cortez Allen...

 

This.

 

Im not 100% but didn't he have hamstring issues last year. Besides everyone knows that Lebeau would have never taken a vet like Troy off the field, regardless of how bad he was last year. I hope all that blind loyalty to the old guys left with Lebeau.

 

he can cover... he still its like a mack truck and is only entering his 3rd season... I have high hopes for this one and strongly believe that he will answer all the questions against him and silence all the nay sayers

 

I said that he will be like Indy's Bob Sanders all along - i.e. Short, but stocky, hits like a truck, which will lead to him being hurt all the time. It turns out, we never got Bob Sander's like production, even for a few seasons. That being said, is it yet another example of Dick LeBeau's system being so super complicated it takes players 4 years to grasp? Get the F rid of anything so complex. That is just moronic.

 

If he is going to be a starter this year, then they should have had faith in him when he was healthy last year and Troy was injured, yet they went with Will Allen. This tells me that he wasn't as good as Will Allen, thus wasn't good enough to be a starter.

Unless he makes tremendous progress this year or if the defense is redesigned to make the SS less important (not likely), then I don't see him being the answer at SS. We will see and I am pulling for him because we need help, but what we know so far doesn't point towards a strong future.

 

Thomas was relied upon to bolster the play on special teams and he did so without complaining. I think he'll be fine.

 

Who's got more to prove this year, Shamarko or JJ?

 

They have the same amount to prove, but one being a 1st round pick raises the stakes. We can't afford many 1st round busts.

 

Both, this is the year we will find out. The Steelers desperatley need these two to produce.

 

We don't know but should find out. Remember, Dick Lenbeau is famous on not starting rookies till their 4th or 5th year. I think you draft a rookie he should play a lot that 1st year. See what you got.

 

my thoughts as well.

 

I want to give him one more season. I'm really wondering about c.lake being able to develop or judge talent...and how do he not have enough clout or voice to demand better talent to work with?
Maybe Butler will listen more the lebeau

 

Shamarko will get his shot, we still need to bring in another young safety I think?

I'm not sure really what is going on with Robert Golden and Will Allen, but both of those guys aren't pushing for playing time. I would like to see more competition there.