1. Hi Guest, Registrations are now open. See you on the inside.
    Dismiss Notice

Mel Keiper Jr

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Jujubean, May 2, 2021.

  1. BowToTroy43

    BowToTroy43 Well-Known Member

    501
    204
    Apr 10, 2018
    Obviously. /Tomlin
    However, that is due to playcalling more so than personnel. The Quarterback and starting receivers are largely unchanged and I only expect one rookie to start on the line this year barring injury. The second half of the Colts game proved that they can go downfield at will they were simply too stubborn to change what they thought would work.

    I highly doubt that Brown is starting this season barring injury. I think it is pretty obvious that Tomlin and Colbert are comfortable playing the entire season with Chukwuma at LT and Banner at RT.
     
  2. Seven4Steel

    Seven4Steel Well-Known Member

    1,169
    542
    Nov 28, 2020
    Pretty obvious, yep. It's also pretty obvious that Chuks and Banner couldn't crack the lineup of the worst OL in the league last season. Doesn't instill much faith in their ability. Tomlin and Colbert are sending really mixed signals with how they're handling this offseason and the draft.

    Are they trying to win now or build for the future or both? Ben certainly points to winning now. But not giving him an upgraded OL makes no sense if you're trying to load up for his final run...unless they think he's going to be here for more than one year. And taking Harris doesn't help the offense without an upgraded OL. So they threw darts at the dart board and hoped that one stuck long enough to pay dividends (next season or beyond).

    All this looks pretty disjointed and lacks direction. This was a throw-away season the moment Ben was allowed to return, and the draft solidified that.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Confluence

    Confluence Well-Known Member

    867
    291
    Jan 22, 2017
    It's not really about reaching in the draft. It's about putting your entire season in their basket. If they don't start and excel, then the draft is a bust. Harris won't lift a bad OL.[/QUOTE]

    I hear you on that but I got to say I think these guys can excel from what I have seen. I think we plug them in, I would rather have a bad offensive line with rookies that are giving it their all than have a bad offensive line with Kendrick Green and Dan Moore Jr. sitting on the bench
     
  4. BowToTroy43

    BowToTroy43 Well-Known Member

    501
    204
    Apr 10, 2018
    What are you talking about? Banner was the starter week 1 and Chukwuma started 15 games in his stead. The line was actually pretty decent early on. It degraded due to attrition taking a toll on our 3 30+ starters, one of whom retired at the end of the season. This year Decastro will be the only 30+ starter and will hopefully not be dealing with injury like he was last year.

    Also, getting rid of the best quarterback on your roster is throwing away the season.
     
    • Winner Winner x 1
  5. SteelHack

    SteelHack Well-Known Member

    2,851
    817
    Oct 21, 2011
    Conner and Snell combined for 1365 rushing and receiving

    I predict Harris has over 1500 his rookie year

    That's only 88 yards a game

    Is that enough to win football games? Idk.

    HACK
     
  6. SteelerGlenn

    SteelerGlenn

    20,688
    4,571
    Nov 24, 2011
    We got good players in the first four rounds. All should be able to contribute to help solve the problems we had running the ball last season. But that wasn’t the real problem in my opinion. The problem was teams were defending our short passing game and thus they already had eight and nine guys in the box which helped them defend against the run also.
    Get that intermediate passing game going in a lot of our problems running the ball will solve theirselves.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
  7. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

    30,010
    7,420
    Nov 14, 2011
    Well they have a new OC, a new RB, so I expect better results in the running game.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Very Optimistic Very Optimistic x 1
  8. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

    22,869
    5,704
    Apr 21, 2016


    As do I...



    Provided Big Ben can get on board.
     
  9. OX1947

    OX1947 Well-Known Member

    3,429
    673
    Jan 12, 2017
    Steelers need a freakin guy who can get 1 damn yard when we need it. Harris is the guy.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  10. DukeDukeDaDaDa

    DukeDukeDaDaDa Well-Known Member

    6,883
    996
    Sep 24, 2017
    But they have the same old QB who doesn't want to play under center.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1
  11. Thor

    Thor

    2,773
    1,096
    Mar 20, 2014
    While I get where you're coming from, I also think you're sticking to some generalized conclusions regarding a more complex scenario, neglecting some of nuances that can factor in as well. The players comprising the offensive line are certainly central to its success, but there are other elements that, too, can (and should) be addressed as part of the overall process of improving the offense.

    Not drafting for the OL until the third can come off as ignoring the foundation in favor of building the penthouse, but in a year strong on OL depth I can understand the thinking when high talent/low depth players like Harris and Frieirmuth are available. They leveraged the deeper talent pool (along with potential improvements in scheme and returning players) in order to select premier talent at RB and TE to further bolster the offense. It's not a perfect plan, but given the amount of issues they have to address I think it unrealistic to expect a more cohesive solution over the course of a single (cash-strapped) offseason.

    Colbert's moves , IMO, show relatively stable decisions being made (where he's so allowed - e.g., I don't think he would've chosen to have Ben back this year) in order to steadily rebuild the overall talent level without over-compensating and playing significantly more to either the immediate or future.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
    • Like Like x 2
  12. LoneGranger

    LoneGranger Well-Known Member

    856
    125
    May 5, 2016
    Kiper was not alone in his response to the draft picks of Tomlin and Colbert. You have to be ecstatic knowing all the grades below. There is solace in knowing the 1974 draft sans Stallworth and Swann was panned by most everyone. Remember? They wasted a 2nd round pick on some skinny ass small college linebacker, jack Lambert. Some guard they wanted to turn into a center. How did that Webster kid even make the team. Oh well, at least they did not waste one of their 17 picks on some kid with a girl's name, Donnie Shell.

    NBC Sports: C-

    Draft Wire: C

    The Draft Network: C

    Pro Football Focus: C

    CBS Sports (Pete Prisco): C

    Sports Illustrated: C+

    Yahoo! Sports: C+
     
    • Like Like x 1
  13. LoneGranger

    LoneGranger Well-Known Member

    856
    125
    May 5, 2016
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Hilarious Hilarious x 1
  14. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

    28,761
    5,757
    Oct 22, 2011
    mels kind of like santa claus, he had his day in the sun and now we won't see him for a year. :cool:
     
    • Like Like x 3
  15. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Just chilling

    29,007
    10,718
    Oct 26, 2011
    I thought that was a groundhog
     
  16. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

    28,761
    5,757
    Oct 22, 2011
    the groundhog has better hair. well so does santa. :smiley1::cool:
     
    • Like Like x 2
  17. Seven4Steel

    Seven4Steel Well-Known Member

    1,169
    542
    Nov 28, 2020
    Don't really disagree with that, but it wasn't stacking the box that pushed our linemen back into the backfield on most running plays. The intermediate passing game can't and won't improve with a sub 2.6 release. It starts up front. It ends up front. Without vastly improved OL play, the running game won't improve, nor will the intermediate passing game.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  18. Seven4Steel

    Seven4Steel Well-Known Member

    1,169
    542
    Nov 28, 2020
    Fair points, all. And yes, I'm pretty much a broken record at this point regarding the OL. I've been lamenting its deficiencies for a couple years now. That's why I'm doubling down on it now.

    I totally agree that there are other factors that contribute to the overall health and success of an offense. I wouldn't even tread as lightly as to call them "nuances." My gripe (one of my gripes, actually) is that we didn't do enough in the past to prepare for the loss of cornerstones (i.e., Ben and Pouncey). And after losing more of the better pieces of a bad OL, our best effort to fix it is to draft two OL who might not even start day 1.

    It isn't as much that we didn't use our first pick on an offensive lineman, but that we didn't end up with a better OL at the end of the day. Presumptuous? Absolutely.

    I'm very pessimistic, but even more, I hope I'm wrong. I have just seen more of the same leadership and decision-making that I've seen for years. I'm not surprised by how this offseason has developed because I've seen this show before. Tomlin and company throw darts with the best of them, just hoping that they made the right decision, or simply turtling and making no decision whatsoever. It's the very definition of insanity. And it's not new.

    That's why I'm so grumpy. That's why I keep spouting the same pessimism over and over again.

    And it's why I keep saying that I hope I'm wrong. I would much rather the Steelers succeed than for me to be right about them being unable to keep this franchise from falling further from what it once was, the greatest sports franchise in sports.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  19. The Sodfather

    The Sodfather Well-Known Member

    15,761
    3,240
    Nov 17, 2014
    This. If he is so damn good at what he does, wouldn't conventional wisdom dictate that he'd be a GM of one of the 32 teams it's been his career to evaluate? Any mongoloid can study the draft and team priorities for a few hours then hit 60-70% on the top 20 in the first round and call himself an expert draft analyst. I would submit that at this point Kiper is just as famous for his silly pompadour as he is for his draft predictions and grades. He's no more of an authority of anything NFL related to me than Stephen A. ("A" for a**hole) Smith, Colin Cowturd or Skip "Gutless" Bayless.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1
  20. TheTerribleOwl

    TheTerribleOwl Well-Known Member

    1,510
    339
    Sep 1, 2017
    Kiper is a loudmouthed no nothing hack who should have honored his promise and retired when Jimmy Clausen busted.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Hilarious Hilarious x 1
  21. The Sodfather

    The Sodfather Well-Known Member

    15,761
    3,240
    Nov 17, 2014
    In Mel's case, same difference. Punxsutawney Phil would likely be just as accurate.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Hilarious Hilarious x 1
  22. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Just chilling

    29,007
    10,718
    Oct 26, 2011
    Except for the $400K/yr he makes.....
     
    • Like Like x 1
  23. The Sodfather

    The Sodfather Well-Known Member

    15,761
    3,240
    Nov 17, 2014
    I rip the guy, mostly for self amusement. As some else correctly pointed out, he has made quite a living for himself carving out a niche market years ago by being the so-called go to guru about all things associated with the NFL draft. So, the guy is no dummy and he obviously has some skill. He is also going to miss on picks, just like the pros and people that put mock drafts together for fun. I just find it hard to take him seriously about the grade, even if it was an A+. Why? Well, how long does anyone think he studied all 32 teams and all their picks versus their positions of need enough to offer an honest, in depth assessment? He has become the McDonald's of draft analysts. Yeah, it'll cure the hunger, but it's not real satisfying and you'll likely regret it soon enough.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  24. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

    42,373
    9,386
    Oct 16, 2011
    We got the best RB in the draft and took a center and tackle which at some point will likely be taking over the starting job this season but somehow we didn’t address fixing the running game. M-Kay.

    I don’t expect them to go from last in running the ball to first or the line to go from last to first but I bet they will improve to middle of the pack which is good enough to win.

    It’s news to me that having a stud RB won’t help improve the running game, that’s a good one. Or that we need to have lineman with first or second rd grades across the line to be good? Really?

    upload_2021-5-4_18-32-16.gif
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Agree Agree x 1
  25. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

    3,775
    1,096
    Mar 3, 2019
    I actually feel the OLine issues could be a bit exaggerated. Dotson and Decastro is potentially a good guard pairing, maybe very good if DeCastro is healthy.

    They loved Banner by all accounts before he went down with that ACL, he could be an improvement over Villanueva and we know Chuks is ok, not great, but ok, he won’t kill them.

    Center is a big question but maybe a combination of Finney / Green gives them acceptable play there.

    Then we have the new coaching staff, Canada and Klemm will do everything they can to have these guys ready. The predictably we saw last season absolutely played in to the perceived problems.

    Optimistic outlook, but still, I’m not sure the line is destined to be a total disaster. There is a chance they get back to at least average.
     

Share This Page

Welcome to the ultimate resource for Steelers fans. Sign Up Here!