2012 Steelers Pre Draft Prospect Visits

i don't know, he gets after it pretty good. they did look at spence from miami too. he's in that mold. they brought rolle in and he's in the same mold as these guys. SS/LB tweener type. maybe DLB has an answer for the passing league thing and has a new twist to the 3-4 with this type player and he's looking for one. a TE and RB pass defender, but fast enough and big enough to get up the middle for some pressure and still big enough to stop the run and get to either sideline quickly. this defense needs to get faster. a pure thumper is fine for rushing and stuffing the run, but in this defense he's got to be a complete lb. i don't think hightower can move like these type of guys. he's definately the thumper gem. we have to have more out of that position then a rush on passing downs unless he blitzes most of the time. lateral speed and change of direction isn't his strong suite. that's more of the type of player he seems to me.

 

lamicheal james is also in for a visit. silatolu is in. paulson a TE is in also.

 

MSU WR Keshawn Martin is visiting today according to Bouchette on twitter.

In somewhat related news... Vontaze Burfict's agent said he hasn't had a single invite for a visit.

 

Also today...
TE Ladarius Green
LB Andre Branch
DT John Hughes

 

Is Burfict now going to go on a tirade about how NFL GM's have ruined his chances at being drafted in the NFL?

 

what a strange case , since we have 3comp picks at the end of the 7rd , i would mind bring him to the camp( if available ) to see what's up with him and if somehow is usefull , definetely he has some tools but a lot of problems too

 

Yeah I wouldn't mind him in the 6th or 7th.

I've been reading all the stuff with Santonio in NY lately and it shows what a strong locker room can do. Ultimately 'Tone because a pain in the ass before he left with the twitter stuff. But in NY he's called out their OL in the media, blasted Sanchez, etc. He didn't do any of that in Pittsburgh probably b/c the vets wouldn't allow it.

My point being a strong locker room and keep a potential problem in check.

 

NT Dontari Poe visiting today.

Today is the last day that visits can happen.

 

alot like hightower.

 

alot like hightower. [/quote:2pmrqrt3]

How do you figure? Sure, any player can be a bust but Hightower looks like a very safe pick to me. Poe was a workout wonder with little production in college, so I can see how people would see him as a possible bust (although I still like him).

Hightower was the leader of a defensive scheme very similar to ours, on one of the best teams/defenses in the country. He's a great pass rusher and in the box defender, and sheds blocks well. The one knock on him is his lateral movement, which he actually had pretty good measurable at the combine. To me, the guys with big bust potential are the ones with questionable work ethic, workout warriors, size concerns, or questionable I.Q. none of which apply to Hightower.

 

Thanks, SBD. Wanted to say something like that, just couldn't figure out how to do it without coming off like an arsehole.

 

great looking just not big numbers. his sacks which you say he's great at,GREAT at are not good for a GREAT pass rusher. his solo tackles that should be more then half his total tackle never have been. his tackles for loss that should be alot higher for such a stud LB on the best defensive team in the land are not great. his change of direction is not very good, he's not very good turning and running with receivers. the numbers just don't pop for a guy that's rated so high by everyone. sorry i don't see him as a can't miss ILB for us and what we need an ILB in our system to do. he's not kendrell bell that everyone wants him to be and thinks he is. he's not some big time edge rusher that can make lots of sacks for us. at least his numbers don't show it. if you look at numbers from really good LB'ers over the years his just don't stand out as such, for a 1st round can't miss guy. i think he will be very average in the league.

 

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have said he was great at rushing the QB. I guess my point was it's an area that would be a bonus, in my opinion. Our ILB's will blitz some of the time and I would say he's a better pass rusher than Farrior. It's not a skill that is really necessary for him to have but it's good that he has it.

The solo tackles vs. assisted tackles seems like a bad argument to me. Part of that is that he plays on a defense with so many playmakers. You could argue that he's not that good because he's on such a good defense, and there's some merit to that, but I look at whether or not he's winning his 1 on 1 battles, and he's able to shed blockers in a 1 in 1 situation most of the time. Here is some of the first round MLB's the past few drafts (where they were drafted in round 1 in parenthesis)...

Hightower(?): Junior - 40 solo, 45 assisted, 85 total - 11 TFL, 4 sacks
Rolando McClain (8th): Junior - 53 solo, 52 assisted, 105 total - 14.5 TFL, 4 sacks
Brian Cushing(15th): Senior - 47 solo - 26 assisted, 73 total - 10.5 TFL, 3 sacks
Jerod Mayo(10th): Junior - 80 solo - 60 assisted - 140 total - 8.5 TFL, 1.5 sack
Lawrence Timmons(15th): Junior - 42 solo, 37 solo, 79 total - 18 TFL, 5 sacks


Now most of these guys' numbers to outshine Hightower, I'll give you that... but they ALL went higher than Hightower likely will. Stylistically I would say Hightower is most like Mayo... a big thumper, in the box defender... Mayo blows Hightower away in terms of volume of tackles but he also not on a really talented defense like Hightower (and that's a reason Mayo went 10th).

The "turn and run with receivers" thing is completely ridiculous because I'd like to see ANY LB that can do that. Coverage wise he'll typically cover a zone, and when he needs to run with a guy it will be a TE.

I also don't see the "coverage" thing as being a huge weakness. Timmons is a VERY athletic linebacker, and should be able to hang with a TE as well as any. So why not use him to cover the TE's and the RB's most of the time? I think Timmons and Hightower would complement each other very well, in the same way that's is nice to have a burner and a possession guy at WR. Could Hines Ward stretch the field? No, but he had Plax, Tone, Nate, etc. to do that. Same with Hightower, we don't make him do the things he's not great at (often). I think Timmons is a liability in the running game (he hits like a truck when there's a hole but he doesn't shed blockers well), but you still put him out there because he does other things really well.

Hightower is not a finished product for sure but I see him as a great fit for our scheme.

 

mac,

You are looking deep for holes in Hightower. Oh, he's supposed to be a good pass rusher, but he doesn't have that many sacks. He's not that good at turning and running with receivers. Every player has holes if you look for them, including the safest pick in any draft. Your entire argument seems to be, "He's not quite 'can't miss.'" But he IS considered a relatively safe pick by the consensus, is a smart guy with a high football IQ, has no red flags personally, off the field, or with his team, is a good leader, put up good combine numbers, and played in a defense similar to ours so he won't have to make such a huge adjustment. Also, no one is denying that he would be absolutely perfect for the first two football downs, and the only debate comes with the third.

Meanwhile, you have Poe, who simply didn't do jack squat in college to put him anywhere near the 1st round and was in a crappy conference and is only in the conversation for combine numbers. One guy is not 100%, one is like 50-50 at best. Comparing them like they are in the same ballpark is ridiculous

 

you guys can keep talking all you want but i've yet to see much game production out of him. he's around the ball and rushes the qb but hardly ever is the guy to make the play. i want more out of my first round pick stud LB. i'm serious. i don't have to dig deep to see flaws. i want you guys to go watch upshaw,menzie,harris,barron,kirkpatrick,and chapman film, but watch hightower in the film instead. even in hightowers film, he gets free to the qb but the ball is gone already. i've seen him blocked by one guy so often it's not funny on many a play. always seems to get there after someone else does the work. i'm not imagining this. go look. as for the ravens getting him, well if he plays like that, good for us.

 

I hear Ravens might try to trade up and snag Hightower...

 

I am with Mac on this one.....He is a system LB IMO....The Bump and run, force coverage forces RB'S to come back his way they also slide the DE'S out on the wide side to force the stretch play his way.....He will get toasted in the NFL when he is the responsible guy on the pitch and stretch play he can''t get there..... Also every OC in the NFL will have swing passes designed his way ,he can't catch any RB in the NFL....He will also get abused by every pass catching TE in the NFL ...His past knee problems coupled with his lack of speed I would not draft him round #1 at all......
He is a bad fit for a 3-4 and is simply to slow for the way the NFL is changing...

 

Hightower's 40 time: 4.67

Woodley: 4.62
Timmons: 4.62
Keyaron Fox: 4.65
Rolando McClain: 4.69

 

Of that group the only 1 who can cover and get sideline to sideline is Timmons....I also think he plays faster than his 40 time,I think Hightower plays slower than his.....

 

it's not so much his straight line speed. his 3 cone and shuttle times tell more. those are his react and change direction numbers. 4.64 and 7.55. several o-linemen have numbers like that.

woodley's not the greatest pass defender i have ever seen either and he doesn't have to do it much at OLB.

 

Very good point Mac and Timmons is at 4.32 and at 6.92....So Timmons is faster in every way and as I stated he looks to play faster and he still has problems covering RB'S and TE'S from time to time.....Hightower will have problems most of the time and that''s if his knees hold up?