Fitzpatrick Trade

...Is now officially a steal. Some of us were concerned that trading away our 1st round pick in a season where Ben had just gone down and we were losing every game would result in losing a high first round pick and the chance to get a high impact player like our next franchise quarter back. However, with our 8th win, we will now be picking no higher than the low to mid teens. Miami ended up trading their 11th pick for a lower draft spot this year! They actually traded down.

What a great trade!

 

That's not really a good way to look at it. You need to compare Minkah and our current team to what our team would look like if we didn't do the trade and used the 1st on whatever would have been available. That's impossible though because who knows how many games we would have won if we didn't do the trade. I'm not convinced a free safety has made as big of a difference as many think. He's had a huge impact on a couple of games now, but he's been very, very quiet in many others.

We need a QB. That hasn't changed. Ben is old and beat up. He also doesn't like to train in the off season. That's a recipe for disaster. Ducky is a stop gap, he's not the long term solution. Rudolph doesn't appear to be either.

Who knows if we would have got a QB with our 1st though.

 

Minkah has been quiet as of late as well which has me concerned. I do expect him to have a great game against Buffalo. You must have missed Ben jogging around the field before the game, getting his cardio in lol

 

Terrible post.

 

Minkah being quiet is no indication that he is not making an impact on the defense. Having a FS know where he is supposed to be and have natural football instincts are what has tightened this defense up. Other teams dont have the wide open spaces anymore in our secondary and are now forced to look elsewhere. I think this has been one of the best trades ever in the history of footbal.....well ok, at least one of the best trades the Steelers have done. This is right up there with the Bettis trade.

 

Duck could win the Super Bowl and he still wouldn’t be the future Steeler qb for some people. They would rather be like San Diego’s management and trade away Drew Brees and draft Phil Rivers. Duck is auditioning for the job and so far the audition has gone very well. Let the audition be complete before you make a judgement.

 

Ask Nick Foles about winning a SB
When BB comes back next year ,it’s gonna be Duck ,Duck ,gone Wont matter if he gets SB MVP

 

Minkah being quiet doesn't mean he's not doing his job,the pass rush now leads the league in sacks because the secondary is doing their job. Just because Minkah hasn't had a pick or recovered a fumble lately doesn't mean he's not impacting the defense

 

Exactly. People got a little spoiled with Fitzpatrick making huge plays. He did come up and make one big stop in the open field on Murray, but you also didn't see him giving up big plays. See Edmunds on the Cards' second-half touchdown of such failures.

 

Have you seen the stomach on Big Ben lately. Aging Big Ben with a paunch isn’t going to be a pretty site. Winning SB qb’s do come back as starters. It’s another thing if they can keep winning after coaches have tape on them and can figure out their weakness. Rudolph’s weakness was he isnt accurate on medium range passes. After defense took away the dump off passes to rb, he looked terrible. I don’t see an obvious weakness with Duck. Let’s see how his future progresses once people have tape on him.

 

Again,
won’t matter ,if BB wants his job back it’s his .Money talks!

 

The Dolphins figured they would get a Top 10 pick out of the deal. Funny how these things work out.

 

is it ok if we can call edmunds a bust now? lol

 

Ask AQL.

In all seriousness, I don't think he is a terrible player. Some people were hoping he would play well enough to justify the Steelers spending a first-round pick on a third-round talent. That doesn't seem to be happening. Right now, he is one of the weakest links on that defense, though he did make a couple of nice plays on the run yesterday.

 

I don't think the draft this year is terribly deep for quarterbacks and I wouldn't expect to get a franchise QB with the 17th pick or wherever we land. I do agree we need a successor to Ben and that QB isn't currently on our roster. I also see our defense as day and night when comparing Minkah vs non Minkah defense. We were just as leaky in the first few game on defense as we had been in recent years. We didn't become a top defense and turnover machine until after he arrived. Even when a player doesn't make impact plays, they can still have a big impact. Like QBs just avoiding throwing to his side of the field.

 

That 3rd and 1 stop on Murray for a 7 yard loss would have been huge had we not immediately given up the first on the fake punt. I think Edmunds is ok. He obviously sucks at playing the ball but he is becoming a better tackler and he is usually in good position at least in coverage. If he is our worst defensive player we are in good shape.

 

Fitzpatrick has affected every game by helping shore up the coverage in the secondary. He doesn't have to be making the big splash plays to affect the game. One of the reasons the defense played so horribly in the opener against the Patriots is they went with Edmunds and Kelly at safety. Brady saw that massive weakness and took great advantage of it. They would have had to stick with Kelly or move Hilton or Sutton. Fitzpatrick was a massive upgrade.

You're assuming they could have gotten a franchise quarterback next season, which is a hell of a huge assumption. Do you really think that team would still have eight victories without Fitzpatrick?

 

I get that the special teams gave it right back, but Edmunds still made a hell of a play on third down.

The alternative to either safety is Kelly, the guy who missed the tackle on the fake punt because he dove at the back's legs rather than taking a good angle on him.

 

I read a Tweet from a sports writer yesterday, that the Dolphins traded Fitzpatrick thinking they would get a top 10 or at worse a top 15 pick, then the Steelers went Steelers.

 

More trash talk huh?!

 

Regarding Minkah, he has been everything I hoped he would be and then some. Nevermind the big plays either. His mere presence prevents opposing QBs from attempting to go for the deep ball or on side of the field.



He has been the most important player on that defense since his trade. He is the most important player on this defense now. Even when we had an elite pass rush, there were little turnovers. Since acquiring Minkah, our ability to generate turnovers has EXPLODED.



#MagicMinkah

 

Yep.


That was the initial report shortly after the trade happened. Some reporters within the Miami section thought that the Steelers got fleeced even though those very same reporters claimed the Steelers would fold up after 1-4. Nevermind the whole folding aspect.



When have the Steelers, since the AFL/NFL Merger, ever QUIT?! Forgive me but my brain is short circuiting a bit.

 

I said it in the off season and I still feel the same. I think Edmunds is best suited in a SS/LB hybrid role.He definitely has room on his frame to add 10-15 lbs of quality weight. His speed, athleticism and skill set would be better utilized closer to the LOS. Just like our previous safeties Davis and Mitchell the ball skills just don’t seem to be there and it’s more of a actual instinct that’s almost impossible to be taught. I believe he has all the tools besides that and if he tasked with coverage down the field we’re going to see him struggle. Reading and reacting to what’s in front of him is what he seems to do well. JMO

 

That was merely a little teasing. He asked me if it was time to call Edmunds a bust and I'm not really the one to ask because I never liked the pick. You are his most steadfast defender, so you are a better one to respond to the question.