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

Interesting short read: 2008 draft in hindsight

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Da Stellars, Jan 15, 2014.

  1. Da Stellars

    Da Stellars Well-Known Member

    7,866
    969
    Oct 22, 2011
  2. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

    10,242
    1,426
    Oct 17, 2011
    I like what-if scenarios. In this case, I dunno... think I still would have gone with Mendenhall, or at least an RB of some description, given how Parker's play declined.

    If we'd picked Red Bryant, as Kiper suggests, I think he would have sat behind Hampton, had one impressive season and then either held us to ransom on his second contract or left for big bucks elsewhere.
     
  3. IggySteel

    IggySteel Active Member

    44
    10
    Oct 24, 2011
    Am I missing something or is he saying we should have taken a guy in the first round who lasted til the 4th?
     
  4. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

    10,242
    1,426
    Oct 17, 2011
    That was what I got. Unless he meant that we should have taken him at *some* point before then...
     
  5. Da Stellars

    Da Stellars Well-Known Member

    7,866
    969
    Oct 22, 2011
    Its is who should have been drafted where based on their performance a couple years into the league. Yeah you can say hindsight is 20/20, but sometimes I think that "value" and convincing yourself not to take a player in a certain round is WAAAAY overrated.

    2 players that come to mind are Ray Rice and Louis Vasquez. They are top end talent, but they didn't go in the first because the "value" isn't there in the first. Steelers could have taken either one in the 1st and would have been solid guys for years....

    I never thought we should have drafted Mendy or Limas Sweed ... there was a reason those guys dropped in the draft. Other teams did their home work, and we didn't.
     
  6. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

    10,242
    1,426
    Oct 17, 2011
    Mendenhall dropped? My understanding was that he was taken pretty much around where he was expected to go.

    Sweed's issues seemed to be far more psychological than practical. So I'm not sure the issues he had were things that teams could have researched. We all like to remember him as a drop machine but a) he didn't actually drop that many balls, relative to other receivers and b) I don't remember him being known for this in college.
     
  7. Da Stellars

    Da Stellars Well-Known Member

    7,866
    969
    Oct 22, 2011
    I think a lot of people thought Mendy would be an early or mid-round pick, going to Panthers at latest. Instead he dropped to us, and probably could have dropped much further if Steelers didn't take him.
     
  8. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

    41,499
    8,939
    Oct 16, 2011
    There was nothing wrong with the Mendy pick, when I think of the failed 08 draft, he isn't one that comes to mind, we got 3 productive years from him and his best season help lead us to a SB. No one could have foreseen him turning into a disgruntled head case. And while Sweed is a bonafide bust, his drops were definitely over exaggerated. Chalk both those guys up to mental issues but at least we got something out of Mendy.
     
  9. Aerosteel

    Aerosteel Well-Known Member

    599
    43
    Oct 19, 2011
    I agree that Mendy wasn't a bust - just not what we hoped he would be. I remember thinking it was a great draft at the time. Hindsight is always easy. I really don't think the Steelers did a bad job in that draft, it just didn't work out. I do think the Steelers are not drafting as well in the first round as they used to though. At one point, we drafted Troy, Ben and Heath in a row.
     
  10. freakfontana

    freakfontana

    5,445
    23
    Oct 19, 2011
    coming back i would have took ray rice
     
  11. SteelCity_NB

    SteelCity_NB Staff Member Mod Team

    5,418
    684
    Oct 23, 2011
    Given a complete mulligan, I probably would have went with the following:

    1. OT Duane Brown
    2. RB Ray Rice
    3. LB Cliff Avril
    4. CB Brandon Carr
    5. OG Carl Nicks
    6a. WR Pierre Garcon
    6b. WR Stevie Johnson

    What a draft it could have been :lolol:
     
  12. Aerosteel

    Aerosteel Well-Known Member

    599
    43
    Oct 19, 2011
    Awesome draft, although we actually had one that was better a long, long time ago. You got me thinking, if you took the last 6 drafts and picked the player who turned out to be the best available for each pick, what would the team look like?
     
  13. Steel_in_DC

    Steel_in_DC Well-Known Member

    764
    14
    Jan 27, 2012
    I always felt the Steelers could have gotten more out of Mendy if they would have developed him into a back who catches the ball as well. The guy had decent enough speed, but more importantly he was better in open space. This is another reason I was displeased with Arians as it seemed his only short passing play was the WR alley screen. Mendy should have been a guy with 40-50 receptions a year.

    That is something I really like about what Ben and Haley seem to be doing w/Bell - where he is an option in the passing game as well. Anyway the guy definitely wasn't a bust - had 3 1000 yard seasons and two of them were 1200 yard seasons back to back. The fumble in the SB wasn't really his fault either, Legs missed his block and Matthews plowed through and put his helmet on the ball almost immediately after Mendenhall was trying to put the ball away.
     
  14. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

    10,242
    1,426
    Oct 17, 2011
    I agree wholeheartedly.

    One of the reasons Bell has done well this season is because Ben has started to check down to the RB in the flat. I think this is the first season I've seen him do that consistently. In previous seasons it's killed me seeing a guy wide open for 3-4 yards, when Ben was busy taking a sack because the 80 yard bomb hadn't developed in time.
     
  15. Steel_in_DC

    Steel_in_DC Well-Known Member

    764
    14
    Jan 27, 2012
    And this is where maybe some of the buddy with buddy with Arians hurt Ben. Maybe (and this is just speculation on my part) Haley has been the little birdy whispering in Ben's ear that it is okay to check it down, to look for it, that this kid Bell has enough moves to pick up 20-25 yards and its low risk. With that - now that Ben feels he is getting some of the respect he believes he has earned to run more no huddle, he doesn't want to betray that trust and is willing to make more safe throws.
     
  16. Diamond

    Diamond Well-Known Member

    5,790
    469
    May 26, 2012
    Mendenhall had more fumbles with 4 this season with the cards than he did in any year with the steelers where he had 9 total fumbles over 5 years: He had a 3.2 yard average on 217 carries for 687 yards, those are pretty pedestrian numbers, and it will be interesting to see if the cards extend his 1 year contract even though Arians has a love affair with him........
     

Share This Page

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