Biggest mistake Steelers ever made?

You can point out mistakes like that in most drafts, including passing on Tom Brady like everybody else did.

You also have to put these things in context. The Steelers' inside linebackers in 1999, the year before Urlacher was drafted, were Levon Kirkland and Earl Holmes. That is a pretty good pair, and they still had those two in 2000. Their receivers in '99 were Hines Ward and Courtney Hawkins. Ward was a quality starter, but he didn't really emerge as a star until after Burress arrived. Neither did much in 2000, but they were both over 1,000 yards in 2001.

 

Urlacher was much more than a linebacker, if you remember his college career. The Bears considered playing him at safety, which might have been what Cowher had in mind, because he wanted to draft Urlacher but was over ruled. Do you remember who the Steelers had at safety in '99? Me either. (I remember Lee Flowers, and he was absolutely worthless).

 

Lee Flowers did provide some comic relief in 2002 when he called the Bucs "paper champions" after the Steelers whipped Tampa in their own house. Unfortunately, the Bucs became real champs a few months later.

 

The main thing I remember about Flowers (besides him taunting crowds at away games in losing efforts) was his ability to scoop up the ball after an obvious incomplete pass and run it all the way back while the officials blew their whistles and waved their arms. Then come the 4th quarter, he was spent because he had run 16 miles for nothing throughout the course of the game.

 

Lol. And somewhere, a young Mike Mitchell was wide eyed in awe and said: “I want to be HIM when I grow up”

 

Urlacher began his college career as a linebaker, but became a star when they turned him into a hybrid safety. If I remember correctly, most projections had him playing linebacker in the NFL. Of course, he was a great linebacker in the NFL, but could he have really done anything close to that if he stayed at safety?

I'm not saying the Steelers wouldn't have been better off taking Urlacher than Burress. Of course, Urlacher turned out to be the better option. The guy was voted into the Hall of Fame. I am saying that given the team's needs at the time and that Burress did become an impact player for the Steelers, passing on Urlacher doesn't stack up with passing on Marino or cutting Unitas as an all-time blunder.

 

Urlacher on the field in any capacity would have been more productive than Burress, and that includes WR (since Brian played that position in college too).
The Bears gave serious consideration to playing Urlacher at safety/hybrid, but obviously made the right choice by making him a LB.
All that aside, I chose Burress being drafted over Urlacher for this list because it hadn't been posted in this thread yet and it is often overlooked. Skipping on Marino has to be considered the biggest mistake, but that's been discussed here many many times.

"Mark Hatley, then vice president in charge of personnel, once confided to this reporter that serious Bears thought was given to playing Urlacher at safety. Hatley and the Dick Jauron coaching staff reasoned that Urlacher’s mix of size, speed, instincts and skills had the potential of producing a safety unlike any ever seen in the NFL.
After all, he had been an All-American at New Mexico playing safety, so maybe yes, maybe no."
https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/b...-linebacker-they-did-right-thing-hall-of-fame

 

Oh, I'm not saying he couldn't have played safety in the NFL, just that linebacker was more likely and that fits somewhat into why the Steelers passed.

Your logic for putting it in the discussion makes sense.

 

Ah yes... the pre-Troy... Alexander/Flowers days. Flowers was better at smack talk than football.

 

So was Mike Mitchell

 

Either passing on Marino or letting AR2 in the war room

 

Drafting Urlacher to play safety seems insane; but if that happens in 2000, then the Steelers do not draft Polamalu in 2003!

So, I will take Plax in 2000 and Polamalu in 2003 any day over the Safety Urlacher could have become

 

I don't think Urlacher would have played safety if the Steelers drafted him. My point was if there's a talent like Urlacher available, you take him no matter the need or position.

 

If the Steelers would have drafted Urlacher then I never would have seen him being steam rolled by the BUS.

 

That's the most logical reasoning I've heard for not drafting Urlacher.

 

That and the fact he went to the University of New Mexico and most people don’t even know NM is a state.

 

New Mexico, the state right next to Old Mexico.

 

My wife is from New Mexico, met her in Chicago. When we moved to Pittsburgh people told her she didn’t look Mexican (Blond hair, blue eyed). She would tell them “New” Mexico. And yes, some yinzers would say”old Mexico, New Mexico, it’s all the same”.

 

That reminds me of a doughnut shop I was remodeling years ago.
I put a sign on the door stating "Closed For Renovations". Some guy came up and banged on the glass to get my attention, then asked me "when did (the owner) move to Reno Nevada?"

 

One of the BUS'S best plays ever.

 

I'm not sure if there is another one that was comparable. That was part of what was probably his last great performance as a Steeler, rushing for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win the Steelers had to have against a good Bears team. The Steelers had to win out just to make the playoffs. What people sometimes forget is that Bettis wasn't one-on-one with Urlacher. Another Bears defender hit Bettis first. He hadn't really finished shaking that guy off when he ran into Urlacher, but he still had enough to run over him on the way to the end zone.

 

I have a total of two steeler pictures in my man cave. That is one of them.

The other is the sack of Tarkenton in SB IX.

 

biggest mistake was not finding a cure for age and keeping Heath Miller in the fold. watching the 05 divisionsal gm on NFL network and man I miss the big guy. He and Ben taking it to the Colts early and catching them napping

 

It’s not just Dan Marino, but some of the eighties draft mistakes leave you scratching your head:

Drafting tight end Brent Jones in the 5th round in 1986 only to see him go on to much bigger things with the 49ers and Joe Montana.

Wasting several 2nd round draft choices on players that for whatever reason did not pan out:

1982: tackle John Meyer, Arizona State: failed to play in a single game due to knee injuries

1984: tight end Chris Kolodziejski, Wyoming: played only one year in the league, catching just 5 passes

1985: tackle Mark Behning, Nebraska: lasted just a single year in the pros

My point is that the down years of 1985 to 1988 directly correlate more to than just the failure to draft Marino.