2021 NFL Free Agency thread

Very good point Mac.

 

Maybe when Ben is gone, we can use the other 98% of the playbook he doesn’t know.

Im putting the over/under on Ben starting 3 games.

 

I'll take that bet.
He will play the whole season.....unless a major injury happens ( God forbid)

 

Ballage looks like camp fodder, nothing more

 

...as apposed to last season when he was injured? Maybe that's why he barely averaged 3YPC

 

They didn't want to keep Ola at his qualifying offer at over 2 million.

 

I doubt Conner wants to stick around and play backup to a rookie RB.

 

Probably due to the reduced salary cap, if the players have a good year in 2021, then the good ones will get paid in 2022.

 

There is no way Rooney will let Tomlin bench Ben, he'll play the whole season if healthy. And even if he's not he'll force himself to play to be an ironman.

 

Where is he going to go, that will consider him the starter?

 

I have 2 wait ,and see him play for us. I know he's got better breakaway speed than Connor, or Snell. Of course that means nothing, but I've seen him break a run against the Vikings, that I haven't seen a Rb in the Steelers be able 2 do since W. Parker.

 

he sure wasn't the only guy available to them.

 

elliott is one. there are a ton of edge players sitting out there unsigned this year.

 

at this point it's like me picking over the bargain bin at the gun store. I many pick up a gun simply based on price rather than one I actually want. The Steelers seem to be taking a flyer on a few folks right now that probably won't even make the roster by the end of training camp. There have been almost no signings that I am particularly excited about. Just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. Someone on here keeps posting sign everyone! It kind of looks like that's what they're doing. I'm glad Alualu came back and Ju Ju. Our running back situation is beyond bad right now. I hope I'm wrong and some of these guys they're signing help but I'm not hopeful

 

You are correct. Unfortunately.

 

i don't think it's as bad as most are making it out to be.

QB: pretty solid even though ben is aged.

RB: we have a couple of guys that are respectable. just because of last year and the line trouble doesn't mean they can't be better behind a better line in a different offensive scheme.

WR: we are in pretty good shape here.

TE: we have one starter and a draft pick that got hurt or might have seen more playing time last year. not ideal at this position but not awful either.

OL: only two guys that saw significant playing time are back. two guys that should have been playing more last year are still here. (Banner and dotson). one of our better backups is back. a few guys have been brought in that have NFL experience. so not as bad as most make it out to be.

DL: still a strength.

OLB: still have one player of the year. one guy in year two that didn't look overwhelmed in his rookie year. a vet backup.

ILB: two starters. not much behind them.

DBs: still a strength. some young talent behind them and another vet that came last year.

STs: still strong.

so much doom and gloom when not that much has changed really. a couple of spots need bolstered but that happens. we have made many coaching changes that should help.

 

I realized my last response to you might have come across as dickish. I didn't mean it that way. Sorry if it came across the wrong way.

 

Who?

 

I’d agree with all of that. I think the core starting 22 will still be good, if Canada can get more from the offence they could be very good in fact.

My big concern is depth, they had real depth last year and injuries still derailed the season in the end. Roster as a whole is going to be weaker this year, unless they have an exceptional draft.

 

I want to have hope for the season. I really do. But we were a weak, flawed team last year. The 12 wins were a mirage.

QB: Ben might actually be better after a year of work with his new elbow. But better only means a slight uptake in accuracy and maybe a tad better touch on the deep balls. But it still means a handfuffed, predictable offense, ran primarily out of the shotgun and geared to protecting him at all costs at the expense of production.

RB: Still more than capable of helping the offense and still waiting for an OL to open holes.

WR: Good shape.

TE: Decent in the passing game, but of no help to the running game whatsoever.

OL: HUGE question mark. Last year set the bar so low that it would be hard to be any worse. We could go anywhere from the same (and rank at the bottom of the league again) to solid (and easily rank middle of the pack, if not higher).

DL: still a strength.

OLB: still have one player of the year. one guy in year two that didn't look overwhelmed in his rookie year. a vet backup.

ILB: two starters. not much behind them.

DBs: Still the weak spot of the defense due to personnel, scheme, and coaching. The pass rush is responsible for the secondary's numbers. When the pass rush fails to pressure, the secondary gets exposed. Another big question mark. Scheme and coaching could make this unit compliment the line's pressure instead of rely on it. Offseason changes could make it go either way.

STs: trending upward, but still somewhat of a question mark.

 

Man.. I hope so.. I really liked him coming out of College!

 

If I still have this brain cell, I’m going to start a poll on this before the season starts.

That also depends on if I can figure out how to start a poll.