3 things steelers must do this off season:

Just got that.

 

The evil empire is dead!

 

I'd like to see Dupree back next year if they can get him at a decent price. I would like to know how he finally improved so much. He always showed hustle and made lots of tackles in the run game if the play was away from him, if it was right at him he engaged the tackle and stood there as the play went by. This year his effort against the run was better with technique to get off the tackle, and he showed improved moves in his pass rush. Did he work with someone in the off season.

Mason I am not sure what to think he has the size and the the arm strength he plays with guts and he is competitive. I just don't see him making his reads as fast as he needs to and his pocket awareness is terrible.
Maybe with some better coaching he could be good enough.

Fictners game planning didn't help either rookie QB.

 

I will point this out again. We currently Have 4 QBs under contract for next year.
Ben is eating 33.5mil in cap value (2nd highest Paid QB in the league right now for 2020).
Lynch will be your veteran QB, as that will be about the only thing we can afford.

Hoping Edmunds can move to LB to replace Barron.
I can see them getting rid of both Barron and Chick; but Williams is not going anywhere with his Dead Cap situation.

 

Great job by Vrabel...What an innovator...Used a loophole against the Master... Would Popcorn ever do that? Ha, All he ever did was continually get his Ass handed to him by the Cheats, With MUCH better teams....

But the Tomlin. Lovers on here will still be but " Oh, look at his all time record " ...Woo Hoo lol

 

The Pats were not the same team as they were in the past. Brady wasn't the same QB. Using that tactic wasn't the reason the Titans won the game.

I am glad Tomlin doesn't look for ways to cheat. Cheating will always be a part of the Pats legacy.

 

Hey Jim90.

I do not think that you and I have ever interacted before. Good to chat with you.

Nice post. I do not know if I buy into this concept that Dupree turned it on because it was a contract year as some around here believe. That is playing with fire. I think it more likely was that he was not being properly coached-up. And unfortunately, that fell back on Joey Porter who I like very much as a player (Man he was a monster in that Super Bowl XL run.)

The Steelers could have easily let him go after Year #4 and he could have had the same fate as Jarvis Jones. Now, this does put Management in a tough position when a player's light goes on in the final year of his contract like with Dupree. Reasons being, it now becomes a wait and see game where he is making that top dollar in that final year and if he does perform well, like Dupree did this year, he is probably going to test Free Agency and he has all the leverage now with negotiations with the Steelers.

Also, as much as he did improve, IMO, he did not totally destroy it. Yes, this was his best year, a good year but not a great year. Given that, if he can maintain and build off of what he did accomplish, we are pretty much set with our bookend OLBs for a while if he stays with us. Take care.

STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Cheating WILL always be part of their " tainted" legacy imo...I will forever hate them...

But the BOTTOM line is, The Titans Won! They won when they had a WAY less talented team, than we've had many times in the past! Found a way to win! And don't act like they were terrible...
They had the no.1 D in the league, Michel, White, Burkhead, Edelman...The cupboard wasn't bare....

 

No such thing as way less talented team in the NFL. Teams have the coaching and talent to beat your team. It's not about how much talent you have. It's about how that talent performs on game day. It's been proven over and over again in sports.

 

I didnt like what i saw in the final game i saw flashes of the old Dupree. He ran by the ball carrier at least 4 times when he had a chance to tackle him in the backfield. He was too focused on RG3. TJ and Bush came flying out of the gate, it shouldnt have taken this long for Dupree to get going, but then again James Harrison got cut a bunch of times before he became a monster. So who knows i just have a bad feeling he turned it on for the $$$$.

 

I like Bud but he's a good, not great, player and they should let him go. He's gonna want huge money and I just don't see him being worth it, especially with TJ needing a long term deal. That's a hole at OLB, fine, fill it with someone else.

 

Tomlin? Never!

 

Despicable Mikey...

Remember Woody Hayes?

 

Loved Woody Hayes.
That wasn't cheating though. that was an @ss whoopin'

 

Cowher's was my favorite.

 

I never seen this before, honestly. The fake punch out did Tomlin yet again.

 

I'll disagree with one of those 3. I've said before I would rather them spend the money on Hargrave than Dupree. Yes, Dupree had a great year. Was Keith Butler's move to coaching the OLBers responsible?? I don't know but it coincides with Dupree's rise in play. Just something to think about.

But more importantly, we led the league in sacks the two years before Dupree "finally got it". Interior pressure helps with that. Dupree only had 6 and 5.5 sacks in 2017 and 2018. For as much as Dupree is going to cost I think we can get that production from Ola or Skipper and still have high sack totals. And I tend to side with those stats rather than his 11.5 from this year. Hargrave had 2 sacks in 2017, 6.5 in 2018 and 4 this year.

The only problem with this is that I think Hargrave would rather go to a 4-3 instead of manning the middle but that's speculation. The money will probably be better elsewhere and his stats will go up along with being a more disruptive force.

 

A combination of Ola and Skipper versus Dupree and Chick. I know where my vote lies, even if the Toledo duo is unproven.

 

It was a classic. Monday night game at Jax, Steelers lined up to win the game with a FG but the kick was blocked and returned for a td to end the game. That's Cowher's reaction to the return, in the gif. 1997-1998 ish.

 

Here it is.


Date: September 22, 1997.

Site: Alltel Stadium; Jacksonville.

Records: Jaguars 2-0, Steelers 1-1.

What happened:
Steelers took a 21-20 lead on a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kordell Stewart to tight end Mark Bruener on the fourth quarter’s first play. Jaguars kicker Mike Hollis’ 27-yard field goal with 4:14 remaining gave the Jaguars a 23-21 lead. The Steelers then drove to the Jaguars 22, but defensive end Clyde Simmons blocked Steelers kicker Norm Johnson’s 40-yard field goal attempt on the game’s last play. Jaguars second-year safety Chris Hudson returned the block 58 yards for a touchdown, with Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher famously motioning as if to punch Hudson before turning away on the final play.

 

The world of no social media, how glorious it was.

 

That's interesting I was old enough but I don't remember that incident. I do remember Cowher and his Pittsburgh Dad glasses though.

 

Im still growing up at 50+...lol
Looking back, I think I was travelling for work putting in 12-16 hour days. Tuned out the Steelers for awhile after the 1995 fiasco...man my Cowpie buddies let me have it.