what to do with our cuts

I know it's a slow time.

since Cleveland needs receivers and Baltimore needs DB depth, should we wait until way late to make cuts to guys like moye and McCain if they are the cuts? why would we want to give our competition any ammo against us? would it be smarter to maybe keep moye and PS brown, than to hand one of them to Cleveland? what about any DB's if they are the cuts?

I know everyone is big on JB this year, but if we could sneak him on the PS wouldn't that be smart for next year when our one year signing of DHB may not be here anymore? then we really have something that is proficient in our offense. for as much as these later receivers will be used on the field, wouldn't this be a better plan in the long run? thoughts?

 

Don't see JB staying on the PS. And I think we have a better receiver in him than we do in DHB tbh

 

big difference in speed for one thing, and I find that hard to believe with the years DHB has in the league. that makes a huge difference. most likely they wouldn't even play the same receiver in our system. JB has done absolutely nothing to date. I surely wouldn't want to hand DHB's speed over to the browns either. that is the jist of the thread originally, who I wouldn't want to hand to a needy team in our conference. I'd rather they be as weak as possible. I'm greedy that way I guess. LOL

you have to consider experience in case of an injury too. JB is more of a possession receiver. they are just in shorts and JB has grown bigger than life already. I like JB and was one of if not the first to talk about him after we drafted him. we have to remember we are getting ben used to a lot of new receivers come camp time, so guys like JB, moye and even Bryant will not get all that personal attention time with ben. he's busy with AB, wheaton and moore for now trying to work with that chemistry first. I'd have to say DHB and Bryant may come next and then moye and JB with the other camp body's.

that's also if nobody else steps up either out of that group. we had some pretty good wr's coming to this camp. at least many guys with a lot of upside coming out of college. ya never know who may shine yet. it will be interesting for sure. we have a couple of possibilities to keep an extra guy or two this year since dri will be one of the RB/wr and willj will be a fb/3rd TE possibly. this could open an extra spot on the roster.

 

I agree. While I have faith that Moye could be a good receiver somewhere - maybe here, maybe not given the competition - I don't think he's on that many people's radars. It wouldn't surprise me if nobody picked him up. That would be a shame for the guy, he plays with a lot of heart.

 

Definitely a big difference in speed and experience, and you're correct, we haven't seen anything really yet from JB, BUT I also haven't seen much lately from DHB either. And I believe JB's hands are much more reliable than DHB's are. That's the main difference I see. I would love to have a WR with DHB's speed and size (hey, Bryant), but his hands scare the heck out of me (hey Bryant, lol). Like you said, JB is more of a possession type WR so it's hard to compare the two imo.

I just don't see JB sticking around on the PS. With the hype he's been receiving lately i'd have to think someone would snatch him up asap.

 

The simple answer is, if a team likes a guy you cut, it doesn't really matter how late you cut them. Moye/JB/DHB....that fight will go the last cut of camp IMO anyway.

 

being the browns are our first game, it sure would give them time to pick his brain on the no huddle and other things.

JB may not be on as many peoples radar as you guys think either. he was a PS player last year and I don't think he's become such a hot commodity outside of steeler nation quite yet. I'd love to keep all 3 of moye,JB and DHB if we could. red zone packages and there is always next year to consider. when we could lose DHB. it would be nice to have 2 big guys with 3 years in the offense.

 

You know, since the league does so many things these days under the guise of "player safety", why not increase the roster size? If you could rotate more players in so that you would not have fatigued players risking injury, wouldn't this enhance the "player safety" aspect of it? It would also alow a team to keep a couple of fringe players that they don't want to lose. Bump the roster to 56, and the active/dress to 49. What would this really hurt? I don't see it watering down competition that much. that would only be an extra 96 players. And, maybe teams would keep a second kicker just for kickoffs, thus eliminating kickoff returns, which is what Goodell is after anyway

 

Does anyone remember JB's 40-time coming out last year? I don't have the info handy, but I thought it was kind of pedestrian by NFL WR standards. If DHB is as willing a special teamer as we've heard, that may be the deciding factor in who makes the 53-man roster.

 

To really be honest DHB was sitting out there for anyone to grab as well and no one else signed him either. Blame it on Cleveland not knowing they would lose their top receiver, but the guy really hasn't done much in the league except have some speed. Keep JB and see what they have is my opinion.

 

DHB couldn't make it work with Luck last year. Wouldn't be overly concerned with him going to play with a guy coming off an ACL or a rookie.

 

Mac, Kudos for trying to stimulate some discussion during the lull but as others have pointed out I think that we as members of Steeler Nation may be putting more importance on bubble players then there really is. It is like the discussions about extending Gilbert, now he has played ok but really hasn't stood out as a dominate tackle so I can't really see teams throwing a lot of cash at him. If they do then they are as foolish as the Steelers were in overpaying marginal players like Colon, Kemo and that truly dumb deal with Max Starks. So to the point about DHB he had plenty of time to shop around and chose the Steelers, he hasn't really put much on tape since coming to the team that would make him coveted by even the division rivals who need help at he position. Going to be a lot of less risky and more reward type veterans as camps get underway and cuts are made.

As far as picking guys up to pick their brains about what an opponent is doing, Couglin made a career out of doing that when he coached the Jags and I don't think it gave him any insights into beating the Steelers consistently. At this point in todays game there isn't anything that a player can tell an opposing teams that signs him for a week that can't be learned by watching tape after tape of game footage.

 

I just can't see the throwing away of a good receiver in moye. sure the sample size is small, but the kid hustles and is tall, fast and can catch. JB has his role too. maybe even as a punt returner. he was pretty good at that at Oklahoma. DHB though with that second gear that helps this offense take the defense deep, whether it's just to clear some people away from the LOS.

we have a lot of receivers that are capable but I see them as individual niche' type of players. nearly all of them do something well and maybe just not everything.

DHB, deep speed, size, blocking, ST's, veteran. he also seems like the type of WR that runs certain patterns better than others and is only going to make certain catches. a qb will have to learn this about him. he ain't going over the middle. fly routes, one on one matchups, that's when he's going to make catches. in traffic or if he thinks theres traffic, he's not going to concentrate and allow a qb to lead him into a hit. a classic alligator arm guy. maybe mann can improve him. if anybody can, he will.

JB, possession, height, blocking, ST's., has some game.

moore, possession, veteran, 1st down machine.

AB, quickness, hustle, blocking, more to come.

wheaton, good speed, uncertain ??

moye, height, hands, hustle, blocker, some speed.

Bryant, size, speed, blocking, more to come.

archer, fast, quick, position flexible, ST's, 3rd RB, also more to come.

many different skillsets amongst these guys. what happens if we have an injury? DHB would be nice to have on the field then. I'm not sure wheaton and moore or wheaton and JB would be a strong enough duo. i don't know and haven't studied DHB enough to know what he can really bring.

if AB went down or wheaton went down, our starting lineup would slow down considerably. only having two second year guys and two rookies in reserve, would diminish greatly our effectiveness early in the season. that is where moye would help or DHB could be useful. moye is a 6-4 target that runs a 4.46. JB is a 6-3 target that runs a 4.64. both could have a place, but on game day you are so limited. that doesn't mean you wouldn't wish you still had a guy you let walk for next year or in a pinch. this will be fun to watch me thinks.

 

I often wonder where the stipulation that it had to be 53 came from. Would an extra one or two make the difference?

On the other hand, the competition to avoid cuts is something that gives the off-season some storylines for the press, I suppose.

 

That would be huge right there. I don't think Moye, DHB, or JB is going to come close to filling those shoes, so no matter which guy/s we'd keep we would more than likely be screwed in that scenario anyhow.

 

how so? moye has a year on him. jumps higher. weighs more. is taller by an 1.25". way faster 4.44 to 4.62. stronger. has made the 53 man squad. has some pro footage including a TD. fights for the ball as shown by the amazing catch while two ravens dumped him on his head. I just don't see where JB has more to offer. I like JB don't get me wrong but I just don't see MORE to offer at this point. now if it's personal preference OK, but more to offer doesn't seem to fit. sure we heard about JB improving in shorts so far, but he needed to. we didn't hear about moye taking a step back though. I'd somehow try to keep both if it were up to me. red zone, heath 6-5, Bryant 6-4, moye 6-4+, spaeth 6-7, brown 6-3, DHB 6-2. I like our chances. LOL

I'm going to have wait until I see some results this year. we don't know who haley is talking about. Sampson? the new kid that mel blount thinks is going to make the team? a few others in camp? let's see something of them first in pads and live fire. that will be the determining factor.

 

No worries Mac. Totally different organizations and as such once they make the transition they become less of a player . I cannot think of one example of a player that was cut that went on to do great things.

Bman

 

I can think of a few. vrabel probably leads the list. not that it matters. my problem is the future. keeping good talent here and not in our rivals pockets. our coaches seem to think they are pretty good, so why wouldn't they do well elsewhere possibly? ben only has so many years left and the tighter he is with the players around him the better we are.

DHB if he makes it may only be here a year. lance moore is in his 10th season and is signed for this year and next. losing all this good depth as haley speaks of has us grooming a new guy next year, and or the year after and all ben does is have to get on the same page with a new guy always.

we are poised to make a run. with so many young guys continuity is pretty important. are we so good that we can let good young talent just walk away before we really know what they are capable of? I wouldn't want moye on clevelands team out jumping our short DB's for a pass from johnny. or DHB outrunning them for a TD deep.

our offense could go down hill real quick from what seems to be a potent O on paper right now. one or two injuries and we are searching for players that we had and let go to a rival. if we think this bunch is deep, just think how the browns view them since their cupboard is fairly empty. I just hate to hand them any depth. or Baltimore either.

seems we have been searching forever for a complete set of receivers. we have been searching for tall guys too. we have a pretty good wr coach right now. there are not a lot of guys in the NFL that are over 6-4 and run a 4.44, 40. maybe moye comes down with a mysterious injury during camp and goes on the special IR list or is IR'ed until next year. maybe not just him either.