Artie Burns.....Cajun's thoughts

I've wanted Jackson 3rd the whole time and now I hate Cincy even more. So I must dive into the Artie pick a little deeper and here is wear I'm at.

1) It was a reach, but honestly to me almost all CB taken after the teens are going to be reaches as the position is such a high need in todays NFL.

2) Artie is about to turn 21, he's almost 3 years younger than Jackson.

3) Artie is more of a press cover guy, he's physical at the line and has ball skills. He's raw and young but fast and confident. Artie may be the 2nd best press cover guy in the draft ( ramsey ) but we historically haven't played much press. Jackson & Apple & Hargreaves are better overall corners right now but with a little coaching I feel Artie has more upside.

4) His mom passed away in 2015 leaving him with siblings to care for as his dad is in prison. He's 20, alone going to college,playing ball hoping for a NFL career and caring for sibliings. He still had a solid season allowing just one TD, 6 int's and 5 PD.......... In the middle of major adversity he has risen to the challenge.

5) We don't need him to step in day one. We do need him to improve his technique ( as with most rookies )

6) His drafting means our defense is shifting. With Artie on the outside and Golson in the slot our future defense is shaping up. Dupree and the DL should have a bit more time to get to the QB

Cajun

 

Yeah, young and grabby and shied away from tackling in his last game hurt him. I had him as a high 2nd rounder. I was hoping and asked in the draft thread if we could trade back with Denver....Almost called that one...... and taken Artie there I'd been a little bit Happier.

Honestly, I think he's going to have a solid career here, Just needs a year to replace Gay and to me that's ok

Cajun

 

Cajun,

Are you saying that we are shifting to more man coverage now? Is that where you see us going?

 

I think we're sticking with Zone. Allows the play to be in front of now two CBs who are well known for their ability to track the ball. Artie being good at bump and run means that if a WR streaks through his zone he can disrupt the route and basically flip it like its man coverage, what hes done so far. But giving these kids eyes on the play and allowing them to play it in the air like its theirs is what Colbert seems to want to do.

Golson already thrives in Zone and we see from his college takeaway production that its a strength we should immediately play to since hes got a leg up on Artie even if hes "part of this draft class." Colbert even said that Artie needs to learn to adjust to zone and off coverage right after the pick but hes got the drive and skill set and speed to do it. IMO.

 

Because there are fans here that like to nit pick every word and take things out of context ( somewhat ) I want to be clear but not write a stupid book.

LeBeau was a master in defenses. His style is changing under Butler & Tomlin. Butler wants the DL to attack more and that means the secondary must also adjust. Last year in Camp Tomlin was very active with the DBs and installing more cover 2. Artie and Golson can help that.

We already run man coverage, off man, in our zone ? cover 2 (?) but rarely press man. There is a difference. Its easier for a press corner to play off than for a off corner to play press.

I think they will ease Artie into our defense which is morphing into more off man cover two and that will help him with the grabby penalties. As he grows they'll use his press man skillset more and incorporate that.

If this is the case, a safety will be drafted today.............maybe........ DL and edge rushers are thin here on the roster.

Cajun

 

Tomlin said in the pre-draft press conference, "If you have red paint, paint the barn red." He went on to say,
“Scheme fits is an element of discussion, but also quality players and acquiring quality players and being flexible in what we do in an effort to bring the game to them is part of the discussion as well. It has to be.”

In other words, if they select a guy with a certain skill set, they will adjust the scheme accordingly. Ergo, more press man coverage. PFF's grade of "D" because Burns doesn't fit the scheme is a load of horse dung.

 

All I know is, to me, sometimes you have to scout the person.

We get so muddled in "oh he doesnt do this, look at this mistake here, blah blah"

EVERY draft pick is a prospect and NONE of them are more pro ready than another. It's all about how the person becomes the player he will be.

So many busts were once considered sure things and vice versa. What I do know is Artie Burns does seem, to me at least, to have that Antonio Brown-esque drive and... "It" factor. Whether its actually there or not, I do not know.

 

Hallelujah! As long as we have the players with the skill set to man up, that's what I'm pleased about. Blake looked like Prince on the field ( in six inch heel shoes) in purple rain trying to stop his daddy from beating his mom. LOL

 

Analytics is being played in Cleveland, Ohio. We don't worry about that here. We look at game tape or we go to the games to see for ourselves. We play the "eye ball" game.

 

Too soon haha

 

Once he gets comfortable they might just do that....he has a reputation of being a little grabby so they will have to coach that out of him...but if he gets away with it like Sherman,look out. . Maybe we should try and employ the whole grab every play strategy...works against us

 

Can I add, look at the Draft we put together here, if we don't pick a CB in the 1st, we don't address the position until the 4th. IF and IF it's a reach, it informs today in a much better draft imo.

 

First, we did play press when we had a guy who could do it. Ike played a lot of press coverage, it was always the other corner who was off the WR 10 yards.

Second, I would like to see a tape breakdown of WJ3 after his junior year.

Third, for everyone who says reach, been okay with him at 31. It seems weird that you would be willing to risk getting a guy you like for an additional 3rd or 4th round pick. Imagine if we had traded down, and then missed out on him completely or in fact a CB we liked at all. Crazy if you ask me.

 

I had him in the second round and he was the one I thought the Steelers had to do something to move up to take him in the second round.
When the Raiders took my man (K. Joseph) I had an idea Artie maybe the pick. He will need coached up.

 

Honestly, I'm pretty sure the Chiefs had targeted Burns in the first. They traded out almost as soon as we made the pick. Which is why I'm glad we didn't trade back with the Broncos.

 

I think Artie being 21 works against us not for us.

Ben is 34. Steelers SHOULD be in win now mode not "draft a 20 year old he'll be good when Ben has 2 years left" mode.

Seniors should have had a higher value to the Steelers imo.

 

Paul DePodesta's view is intriguing... but not revolutionary. Analytics and football are ideas that cannot be unified. There are literally an infinite number of variables in gridiron football; analytics such as athletic measurables only being used as tools. Tape also is an important part as it informs us what is fact from fiction from said analytics.


In baseball, using analytics as a base is not a problem. In football?.. that is adding fuel to an uncontrollable wildfire.

 

My friends how soon a lot of people forget, The Steelers have a metrics guy on their staff
from CMU. They are also watching the analytics of certain aspects of the game, and I bet this draft was included.

 

No crap! And you get called a top corner when you do it!