Dupree

I agree and with the way Haden's deal is set up he is a prime canidate to be let go. He will save 10 mil by cutting him next year while only costing 1.9m. We all know how much Bell is asking for so he is another guy who could be replaced by a high draft pick.

 

So I guess they are so fearful of him that they don't run his way either....that must explain the 0 tackle games. I guess for other teams it is that simple ....don't dare do anything in Duprees direction....cmon Mac. Statistically he only dropped into coverage 30-35% of the time. You can make excuses and see what you want to see but like I said the most disappointing facet of his game is he's SOFT...and there's no denying that. I've seen him with my own eyes plenty of time being a spectator and not putting his face in the fan...
He was outplayed by a rookie and there's no excuse when he's been here this long and Watt is dropping more and going up against the teams best OL(LT)....

 

I saw another post that stated that by picking up year 5, Dupree's 2019 money is now guaranteed. I don't think that is right, (but could be wrong).

But the guarantee against injury makes sense. If so, the risk for extending him is pretty low. Worse case, barring a Shazier like event, is some sort of injury settlement should he get hurt and the Steelers decide to cut him a year from now. The Steelers are betting that Dupree improves and hold his rights for two years vs the option of cutting him next yr or worse case paying him should he get seriously hurt. They already assume that risk for any players with 2 or more yrs left on their deals.

 

The injury excuse is BS ,if you're starting and out on the field you need to produce....if not step aside and give someone else a chance. I dare anyone to tell me with a straight face that they are satisfied with what they've seen from a number 1 pick. Then to top it all off besides his below the line play he wants to make himself a spokesman for the team and talk **** about JH....hey Bud get back to me when you become the 31st most feared OLB in the NFL....put up or shut up time.

 

Now you are getting all ruffled and saying things to counter what I did not say about him. I just stated why there could be no interceptions or passes defended numbers by him. That's all. It's not like we saw him giving up a lot of completions. The team must think there is something to build on.

 

Yep. He has been a disappointment as a 1st round pick with so much hype. Huge year for Dupree, fail and he is gone, excel and he is around for 2019. Nothing has shown me he will excel so lets hope he puts it "All together" this season. We all have been waiting. I'm on the fence as well with all the injury talk limiting his production.

 

Not getting ruffled at all ,my feathers are still very much in place....maybe we should have him lose about 50 lbs and make him a CB. He is not playing up to the standards of what we have come to expect from a Steeler OLB....just answer me 1 question....are you satisfied with what we have gotten so far from our former number 1 pick? because if you are there's nothing left to discuss....

 

Of course not and i never said i was. The team however must think differently if they picked up his option. I just simply said his dropping into coverage ability didn't seem to kill us at any point. So THOSE numbers could mean one of two things. 1. He didn't give up a lot of receptions, so he did his job in that respect. 2. Teams were to dumb not to throw his way if he was so bad at it.

You keep wanting to bring the rest of his game into the conversation of which I said nothing about. I haven't endorsed his run stopping or pass rush ability in anything I wrote.

 

Never said he was bad at it...I never said his dropping into coverage hurt us either. Ok he didn't give up a lot of receptions (I'm not sure anyone even charts that ,but cool) I just don't subscribe to him dropping 30% of the time as the reason why his other more important numbers are underwhelming...Ok then we do agree on something his run stopping and pass rush ability is poor. The fact that they picked up his option is really a no lose situation unless he suffers a bad injury so I'm not giving much kudos for that ,after all our OLB depth is poor. Where we seem to disagree then is just because he is doing his job 30% of the time it doesn't mean he isn't hurting us the other 70% when he's asked to make tackles in the run game and sack the QB. The bottom line to me is,he hasn't lived up to his draft status . Not sure I'm expressing it the right way but I expect a helluva lot more production from a guy with those measurables.....still waiting...it's this year or never.

 

Worilds and Haggans were asked to do totally different things than Dupree.

Bell is gone. That is for sure. As it stands right now the Steelers have a bunch of cap room next year. Now given they are going to need fill a bunch of holes but nothing major.

 

For those that don’t know or realize this. Dupree being asked to drop into coverage affects his ability against he run also. If he is in a zone coverage he has to wait and determine if it’s play action or not. That’s going to slow him down a half step where as the old Steelers LBers stopped the run on their way to the QB

 

First off we are talking 30% of the time that he is asked to drop into coverage. That 30% is predicated on down and distance. They aren't tasking him with dropping into a zone coverage on 1st and 10s and 2nd or 3rd and short. His main responsibilty is still to set the edge and stop the run,he's not bailing on those down and distances. People can make all the excuses they want about him dropping so much and our LBs now aren't asked to do the same as before. Some of it may have some merit but I choose to go with what I see with my own eyes....superior athlete/inferior football player. He isn't physical and relies on his athleticism but he has no plan. He worked out with Chuck Smith in the summer and still came in without a clue on how to get to the QB. Some may like their football players fast and athletic but I prefer mine maybe not as fast and athletic but physical and gritty. Bud has all the tools but does he have the heart.....

 

your 30% is a lot lower then the 75% BTSC has him dropping into coverage.
https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2018/1/29/16944476/has-bud-dupree-been-getting-too-much-flack

Plain and simple if you have a zone in coverage that is your number 1 priority so once again it will slow him down having read and react instead of just react like all the OLBs in our system before him got to do.

 

They have ALWAYS identified pre-snap what they had to do. That is where Bud is struggling. Identifying what is going on and then holding the point of attack if it is a run play. Haggans, Gildon, and Greene could hold the point of attack. Dupree struggles greatly at it.

Our 3-4 defense has never "stopped the run on their way to the QB"

 

So please tell me how Dupree determines if it’s play action or not presnap. The other guys didn’t have to do that. They got after the passer. That was their job. That is not his job. Up until this recent change 90% Of the time our OLBs were coming. They didn’t have to worry about coverage. They didn’t have to worry about a TE or RB slipping out in the flat behind play action. They were attack dogs Dupree is a guard dog. Yeah they are both dogs but 2 totally different purposes.

 

His level of play since selected? I knew he was a project and had high hopes for him, but last season was a huge disappointment. Hopefully he can turn it around. If not, we will move on.

 

If you are looking for big sack numbers then it looks like you might be disappointed in all OLBs until Butler is either gone or changes his philosophy back to Lebeaus. As long as we stay with this style I doubt we see an OLB with any more than 10 sacks for awhile. Both Watt and Dupree are of the same mold. Tall athletic guys that can also cover. Same with Keion Adams.

 

Funny how we used to convert de into linebackers. Oversized safeties will be the new linebackers

 

I hope both Bud and Tuitt are healthy all year. I feel like we haven't seen that side of the defense ever play together when one or both wasn't hurt. A healthy Tuitt should make a big difference versus the run (at least I hope so).

 

I’m less worried about the sack #. Dupree has been rough against the run and really hasn’t asserted himself into a game changer. Really he’s just another guy out there and that’s not what you want out of your first round picks. He’s still young though so it’s not time to give up on him... just he has thru the end of his 5th year option to prove himself.

It didn’t take long to see Watt impact the game. Dupree hasn’t really since the end of 2016. He’s been largely unnoticed imo

 

75% that's laughable...if we ask our OLBs to drop 75% of the time we might as well start drafting big safeties to play the position especially now if we are going to be satisfied with our run stopping ability.
http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/01/steelers-defensive-charting-regular-season-results/
Here is a link to someone who actually took the time to chart all the defensive plays and not some speculation article like the one from BTSC that basically took their information from what Dupree said (he seems to make a lot of excuses)and a almost comical fluff piece defending Dupree ,some of it being totally ridiculous and contrary to what we all know and see every week...https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/...g-man-bud-guys-hes-everything-steelers-asked/.

Like I've said I couldn't care less about his actual sack numbers. What I want to see is someone taking all that athleticism and those measurables and actually doing something with them on the field. He literally dissapears on the field. I would expect to see more from a number 1 pick with those attributes.....I don't know maybe it's just me....

 

Yeah you're probably right.....lets see.....if Dupree drops 75% of the time and the stats show that Watt has dropped more than Dupree ,so about 85% of the time and we are bad against the run as it is....heck why not?

 

2019 money only guaranteed if he is hurt. If he stinks, he can be cut and payment ends.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.espn...-lb-bud-dupree-fifth-year-option?platform=amp

 

Apparently Colbert/Tomlin see something in the crystal ball.

 

Hopefully,but how much of the decision is based on our OLB depth and how much is based on not wanting to admit another failed number 1 OLB pick that doesn't get to see a 2nd contract. Dupree and Tuitt need to step up and earn their money this season....no more excuses. I would love to be able to turn on the game and hear their names called. It was pretty quiet last year....