Maryland CB Sean Davis

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You're talking about metrics to say that Kirk Cousins is one of the best QBs in the league.

Wow. Nerd alert. "Look at the metrics, guys!" Hahaha. "Metrics win championships!" < Now THAT is a straw man. Haha.

Davis would have a better chance of starting on another team. The Steelers are among the least likely teams to start a rookie. Even elite rookies don't start for Pittsburgh!!!! Heyward didn't start until year 3 so you can keep your perception of "elite" to yourself.

Will Allen the starting SS from last year isn't an option... But Golden who lost out to Allen's old ass is. Much better.

Now you have made your position. You actually just said 5'9 Shamarko Thomas who doesn't know special teams rules is better suited to start at SS than Davis who is a rookie but has yet to egregiously screw up simple plays in an NFL game.

Most people aren't sure that Shamarko will be on 53 man roster but you're sure he is a lock to be higher in the depth chart than Davis without having seen Davis in training camp or preseason.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

The usual suspects have formed a consensus, ignored the obvious and are proceeding with the standard ad hominem belittling remarks.

That's as old as Will Allen... who beat out Golden and Shamarko... who are better options than Davis before one snap in camp or preseason.

Brilliant stuff guys.

 

Sorry, I used a very basic reference point for performance to counter the "Cousins isn't good because i said so" argument.

Classic Tweedle Dee here....

maybe... along with other Super Bowl contenders.

Remind me how many games 2nd round pick Jordan Richards started for New England last year... He was drafted to start, after the Pats brought vet Chung back, but he was disappoiting in 2014. Richards started the last 2 games of the season after McCourty was injured.. New England lost both games.

Did you ever consider that the path to elite... sometimes involves this thing called "development"?

this thing... called development.

Yes, I actually said that experience matters and trumps unproven, developmental rookies. I also don't need to wait and see Davis egregiously screw up simple plays to form this opinion.

It also happens to be an opinion that the majority of NFL coaches would share.

I'm not sure that Shamarko will be on the 53 man roster either. As a side note, Doran Grant should be in this conversation as well.

The chances of you achieving clarity are even less than Davis starting in week 1

 

Honest question, who has actually SEEN Sean Davis play safety?

I'd go as far as saying Sean Davis has a better chance to start week 1 at CB, than he does at Safety.

(that's intended to sound extreme to convey the distance/development Davis has to go to become a starter at Safety in the NFL. You can survice on athletics, strength on an island.... you'll still get rocked on technique... but you can survive and scheme to cover for it. At Safety Davis reads, play in space, etc will be massively exploited... and hard to hide)

 

Golden most likely will start game one. Is he a great option? No. Is he a better option than Davis if you only look at measurables and upside and potential. Nooooo!

But does that mean Steelers are dumb for not putting rookies out on the field? No to that too. Simply put, you put the guy out on the field with more knowledge than the world beater.

Shamarko is a worldbeater athlete but how many people feel comfortable with him at SS. It doesnt matter in the NFL. Knowledge does.

Now maybe Davis does enough to become the exception to the standard The Steelers put out. Taking the safe approach is why The Steelers is a stable franchise. It's ok to shake up the 30th ranked secondary. Looking at Washington's TE maybe makes that thought more pressing. But lets not jump the gun. Washington isnt a lock just because they have Jordan Reed and we have a lackluster secondary. They still have to have a red zone offense to match our ability to stop scores in the red zone. They still have to outscore the killer bees.

Davis still has to do enough to earn the right to be on the field day one over Golden, and upside aside, that is not likely to happen. Hes not even likely to beat out brain dead Sharko day one. Smart, Athletic, or otherwise.

But just because it's unlikely, I wouldn't dismiss it all together. But if were going on whats likely. Whats likely is that the veteran is put out there, wrecked by Reed, but we win the game. Also likely, Davis would have done no better or even worse. Also likely, Davis matures with time to take the starting job.

I cant pay enough attention where any which one of you stands so I'll just do this.

I'm gonna put a paint brush down, with a whole pallate of different greys. I encourage everyone to draw a picture with all of them. There should be no way theres such a polarizing argument going on about something this trivial. The secondary is likely to still be bad for awhile and I doubt any scenario you can come up with is going to change that week 1. I also doubt the FO is looking at these arm chair assessments and determining which route their gonna take from us.

I know the offseason sucks but god damn, shut up. It probably, honestly, seriously doesnt matter whos starting at SS week one. They will probably suck. I hope everyone is on that page at least.

 

That's good info but what does that have to do with what Davis learns and picks up during OTA"s and camp? Isn't "what he learns and picks up" the bottom line?

 

Elvis, great post.

 

it sure does.

 

nailed it

 

I hope you are right. Certainly none of the washouts to date were 1st or 2nd round picks. I am anxious to see how Golson, Burns, and Davis perform. The "draft gurus" certainly were not generous in their evaluations for these three players. They seem to see tham as raw and not a good fit for the Steelers system. However, if you are a real fan of a team you probably know more about the personnel and the team's offense and defense systems than the "talking heads" at ESPN, Fox. CBS. NBC, etc. How many times have you watch one of these sports shows discussing the Steelers. Several times I have caught them making assumptions or stating opinions, not facts. It is amazing how litte research they do. A few do the research, but mostly the rest do not.

I think I am going to reveiw the past 20 Steelers' drafts to learn on average how many selections per draft have actually made the team, for how long, and if they started.

 

this is an evolving defense and no player is that far ahead of any other in it at this point. even coach lake at teaching it was a DL deciple in the zone blitz style. thats why MT was coaching it in camp on a part time basis last year. thats the reason we had to dummy it down to begin the season. thats the reason we looked confused against NE in game one last year. the reason cockrell wasn't as up to speed as some others last year.( he missed camp). none of our players rookie or otherwise will be way behind in it. now some more veteran players may have some better technique value than the newbies, but learning how this defense operates won't be much of a stretch.

 

I think a whole lot of people watched him play safety, he started at safety for 3 years, besides i'm sure the steelers looked at his tape when he played safety for 3 years and liked what they saw:

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/s...-cc-sp-terps-sean-davis-draft-0429-story.html

 

Huh?

I was asking specifically those in this conversation... Not in general. Lol

 

Fans complained when the Steelers didn't draft a CB in the first round, they finally invest high picks at DB but because the team didn't draft the player the fans wanted they think Burns and Davis aren't good picks . Maybe we should wait until we get a chance to watch Burns and Davis play before we decide they weren't good picks . Also Lewis left because he wanted to play in his hometown, not just for the $$$. Welcome to the board newb.

 

The bottom line is that Davis needs to be brought along as soon as possible. Other rookies on other teams have had lots of success and the argument I hear against that is how much more difficult the Steelers defense is to learn.

Ross Cockrell was a 2nd year UDFA who had never started an NFL game when he was signed on Sept. 5th by the Steelers. He still started 7 games and played in 15.

It is possible for a rookie to start week 1 with a full camp and months to prepare. Other teams do it all the time.

The Steelers have a different philosophy to rookies. Even Polamalu didn't start in his 1st year and he is one of the best safeties of all time.

It wasn't a slight against Polamalu it is just the Steelers approach just like it will not be indicative of Davis' ability when he doesn't start.

I'd rather have a rookie make a mistake in week 1 against a non-divisional opponent than the same mistake in weeks 15 and 16 against the Bengals and Ravens.

There is a huge list of failed DBs drafted since 2007. Keenan Lewis is the only bonafide starter while Gay is a very good slot corner. None of those DBs started early. They all had lots of time to learn the system and still failed.

Rookies get better through experience. Davis will be a better player the earlier he starts. I don't see a counter argument to that. There is an argument he could hurt the Steelers as a whole but I'm not so sure based on how low the bar has been set.

There was already an article about Davis getting the cold shoulder from Shark and Golden. They know Davis is a real threat to take their job early just like Coach Tomlin said was a possibility regardless of all the conjecture in this thread.

Of all the issues the Steelers have had Tomlin is not believable when he says that rookies could start in a subpar secondary. Now he isn't credible. I don't understand that logic.

 

I can understand the Golden cold shoulder. He was the incumbent starter after Allen was left unsigned. He had to know a pick was coming at his position tho. Had to. We're so thin at S. I don't get Shark's beef. He has a better chance of getting cut than he does being the starter. He will never see the field on defense (barring injuries) and it is his own fault. He had his chance and blew it. Now it's someone else's chance. That's how pro sports work kid.

 

Don't confuse statements about the difficulty of the NFL, with nonsense about the Steelers defense being difficult to learn.

Yes, an inexperienced player was part of the 30th ranked pass defense.

You're not helping your case

Yes, rebuilding teams do it a lot. Contenders don't.

Myth

The steelers have a philosophy about winning, which includes not putting players who aren't ready on the field.

It will be indicative of Davis not being ready, as it was for Troy

This is the crux of you not getting it... Because the sit, learn, rep in practice, study, etc. they are far less probe to mistakes later in the season, WHEN they are ready (if they are ready)

What's the point here?

Dumb. The list of failed draft picks who started to early is enormous.