Bud Dupree is the perfect candidate for a one-year tag

All that matters is guaranteed money not per a year. Tag is guaranteed so it makes sense putting that all towards a long term contract.

Win now mode was when we had AB and Bell and refused to trade 1st round picks. Lets say Ben returns to himself. He only has 1-2 years left and we need a WR and RB. Maybe some o-line pieces and TE. Then QB soon.

 

Not true about guaranteed money unless you plan to cut him then I ask you why sign him long term and what was the difference between a tag for 17 mil and signing for 4 years only to cut after two? If we are not in win now mode then why keep Ben at 33 mil a year. When you have a franchise QB, a vertern oline and one of the best D's in football you are in win now mode. And like you say we may need a QB soon why hurt the cap with almost 40 mil on your OLB's?????

 

I will repeat what i posted earlier for the absent-minded,
"I wasn't able to watch many games this year."
This implies that i did watch some games but not many of them. it does not imply that i didn't watch any games. It would be ridiculous to think otherwise.
In fact i watched 6 games this year. I do not have the NFL ticket & won't be getting it.

Back on topic:
If we had the cap space, then i would be on board with giving Bud $16mil for the year because of Ben's window. I don't think we should sign Dupree this year because
1. He isn't worth it
2. That $16mil could be better used to shore up the roster with our rfa, fa & contract extensions.

 

I give you credit for being able to block out the game results until you're able to view it in it's entirety, which is several hours later by the time the replay is over.
It got me thinking about the last game I missed viewing live, which was October 1997, Kordell's 2nd half comeback vs the Ravens (except for a couple I had to listen to on the radio over the years).

 

I miss listening to Myron Cope.

 

Because Ben has a 2 year window, that's why I would keep Dupree around, it's easier to replace a NT like Hargrave than a OLB who got double digit sacks this season. If the defense can keep producing turnovers like they did in 2019, that would make it easier for Ben and the offense to score points.

 

And it will mean that Ben can go out there knowing the 21 points wins most games. He had to score 28-35 points per game the past few seasons to be reasonably sure of a win because the D could not stop anybody.

Having a D you can trust gives them the option of leaning on the run more to control the clock and keep the D off the field. With Ben on the field I don’t think teams can stack the box on the Steelers the way they did in 2019, taking pressure off the OLine and running backs.

 

I don't think anyone should expect the amount of turnovers we had this year to continue. We should generate more turnovers than us fans are use to seeing but not like we had last year.
I don't think the Steelers have the money to sign Dud or Hargraves. We have allpro contracts coming up in the near future & it would be nice to be able to grab some more topend dbs in fa after Haden is done.

 

My question still stands. Did you only watch those six or so games or are those just the ones you watched live and you saw more on replays? It makes a big difference in that you missed a majority of Dupree's season.

They can make the cap space for Dupree on the franchise tag. Losing him and Hargrave sets that defense back quite a bit given the lack of options to take their places. Opening next season with Chickillo or Adeniyi starting opposite Watt is asking for a big step backward for the defense.

 

I agree on the TOs. It had a huge impact on the performance of the D. There’s no guarantee that happens again. We’ve seen plenty of seasons we couldn’t buy one. Sometimes it’s just luck. While it seems the D has turned the corner those TOs could have caused a bit of a illusion.

You might be able to say the same about Dupree. This was his best season by far. Was the contract coincidence or has he officially turned the corner? People keep talking about replacing double digit sacks? He’s done it once. So does that mean any player that has accomplished that feat is a shoe in to do it again? If so there are a couple FAs out there we could sign for less money. I’m sure there’s a few who wouldn’t mind playing opposite of TJ and getting nothing but 1on1 matchups while DCs game plan for TJ.

I could live with Dupree on the tag only because of our window. IMO we can find his production with a combination of in- house and a FA. But if they decide to tag him I get it but no way do a sign him to a multi year deal.

 

I totally agree however who do we have in house right now, Ola???? I am not saying he can't do it but the little I have seen from him I did not like. I can't remember what game it was but he got so burnt on a run play I had to rewind it several time to make sure I didn't miss something. There was a play where he fell for the play action so bad it left his far side wide open, I know he is young and things can be fixed I am just concerned about him. Like you say we are in a short window not sure there is time to give Ola a break. I am all about the FA market I have said many time Vic Beasley is my man but there are others there as well. A tag and draft is another way to go as well. jmo

 

Ola,Skipper and a FA would be one of my plans. Ola is still here and Skipper was the one bounced around. Maybe that says something about Ola? It’s hard to judge someone from a few bad plays. I know you aren’t and I understand the concern. I just feel a player needs a legitimate opportunity before we can say either way. He hasn’t been given that...yet. Beasley, Fackrell are just 2 guys off the top. Hell before we throw big long term money at Dupree see what Barrett is looking for....

 

You have a good point about not seeing Dupree except for the games i was able to watch . And agree about not seeing Chickillo starting anywhere. Adeniyi i haven't seen enough to make my biased opinion.

 

Yeah I get the part about judging on a few plays but my concern is if he gets the job and don't do well and the defense takes a step back that is not good. All I have to go on is the little bit that we have seen and with so many other options available I am not giving Ola the nod, jmo. Like you say Beasley(my man fa crush), Frackell, Golden, Orchard are just some lower level names that I am more than willing to give the nod over Ola and still feel comfortable to get good production.

 

The Steelers play their reserves quite a bit on defense. That meant we saw way too much of Chickillo this season. That he couldn't beat Chickillo out speaks poorly of Adeniyi. When he has played, he has been invisible. The splash plays of the 2018 preseason are nowhere to be found. Since that preseason, he has done nothing to show he is a viable solution as anything beyond playing special teams an getting a few snaps per game as a reserve on defense.

 

I’m not looking to give Ola the nod or anyone else the nod for that matter. I’m saying what we have in house plus a FA. Let the best man win and if no one separates themselves a rotation wouldn’t be the worst thing.

 

62 whopping snaps for Ola. 143 snaps for Chickillo ....whoa take it easy on Chick he’s gonna burn out....lol
Dupree 90.41% of the snaps.....TJ 86% of the snaps. It’s no wonder we have no idea what we have behind them until it’s almost too late. There’s very little chance anyone can impress with 63 snaps. How long did it take Dupree again?
Also like to add while I myself ain’t big on analytics someone posted a link about how poor BDs pass rushes were.
11.5 sacks on almost 950 snaps with a very high% of those snaps rushing the passer.

In comparison Kyler Fackrell had 10.5 sacks in 2018 while playing roughly 300 less snaps. Don’t know the % of them were from rushing the passer so I’ll assume they were pretty even. Plus he wasn’t playing opposite TJ and his potential DPOY type season. People are acting like he’s a shoe in for double digit sacks again. He’s not....

 

They can afford Dupree if they want to, they would have to make some cuts and restructure some contracts though. They might not get the same amount of turnovers next year like they did in 2019, but I expect them to be close to the number they had last season.

 

Beasley hasn't done much since his rookie season IIRC

 

Steelers owner Art Rooney agreed that re-signing OLB Bud Dupree is a "top priority" for the organization this offseason.

"We'd like to have Bud back, no question about it," Rooney said. "We will do our best to make it happen." He also agreed with coach Mike Tomlin's sentiments that re-signing Dupree was the team's "top priority." Dupree notched career-highs in tackles (6, sacks (11.5) and forced fumbles (four) in '19 all the while garnering PFF's No. 6 run-stopping grade among the league's 3-4 outside linebackers. His price tag in free agency is expected to nearly double his previous $9.232 million salary from last year. The franchise tag, currently projected as $16.266 million for linebackers, is also on the table.

SOURCE: Gerry Dulac on Twitter
Jan 15, 2020

https://twitter.com/gerrydulac?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

 

Restructuring contracts this year will be tough because of the new rules contract in place for the 2020 season.

The 30% rule will make it illegal to back load a contract; In other words; no contracts can have more than a 30% increase from year to year.

 

Well he didn't do much his rookie year however the second year he went off. I haven't really watched him much but the potential is there and with a few "down years" I am thinking we can get a good player and still have enough for another position of need while not losing much if anything. He had 8 sacks in 16 game, 15 games started. Also keep in mind he didn't have a guy like TJ across from him. I really feel like a guy who is a pass rusher can shine in our system. He also had 8 TFL not to bad Bud had 16 last year. IMO well worth a look at.

 

Yes they can afford him but at what cost, what will we have to sacrifice in other areas to get Bud signed?

 

I agree and I think Ola will see time and I feel is the replacement for Chick.

 

Lets see you have TJ, Minkah, JUJU, coming into play
plus Heyward, Decastro. You can't sign everybody. The Steelers will do what they do
let the player (Dupree) explore what is out there and the Steelers will see
if they can offer a competitive contract? My bet is some team is going to over spend.