end of season grades and next yrs. outlook........... wr

Imho, the wr group is the strongest unit on the team. We have arguably the best wr in the league, and his sidekicks are on the upswing as well. Say what you will about the f.o.'s ability to evaluate certain positions on the team, but don't say that they can't evaluate wr talent. Our top 3 guys are on the rise, while the guys behind them can move the chains.. I wouldn't mind if we stand pat with what we have, but don't be surprised if we go younger and stronger with the #4 & 5 spots.....
Now on to the individual


Antonio Brown: Hard to believe that he could be better than last season, but that's exactly what Brown was... 129 rec. (2nd most all time), 1,698 yds. (6th most all time) and 13 tds.... a league record 31 straight games with at least 5 rec. and 50 yds. and his current 10 game streak of at least 7 rec and 70 yds., is also a league record... What can he do for an encore?...One of the hardest workers in the league, Brown has transformed himself into one of the best route runners out there, and a deadly open field runner...... next season he will have his work cut out for him, as he will have the likes of Richard Sherman, Patrick Peterson and darrelle Revis (if the pats resign him) covering him, so if the streaks continue, then anyone arguing his place among the league's elite will have no choice but to be silent.
Final grade: A+

Markus Wheaton: The 2nd yr. man made strides, but still struggled with consistency and his communication with Big Ben to the point that he was benched briefly.. He got it together though, and was productive... I look for him to be more polished next season, although, I also believe that he will get demoted to the #3 spot out of the slot, where I think he'll be more dangerous....... It will have nothing to to with his lack of talent, but rather, the continued development of the next guy on this list....
Final grade: C+

Martavus Bryant: Poor concentration during training camp and pre-season kept him on the inactive list for most of the 1st half of the season, but once he saw the field, it was impossible to keep him off of it.... He came to us with a reputation of having a poor work ethic, but since putting the uniform, it's been the exact opposite. I'm not sure if he was misevaluated or if Antonio Brown rubbed off on him, but i'll take it. We've never had a wr with Bryant's combination of size, speed and athleticism...Like most young wr's, he doesn't yet run a full route tree, and he needs a lot of work learning to use his body to wall off defenders, but i'm confidant that those issues will be coached in him.. As I said previously, I expect Bryant to overtake Wheaton for the #2 spot.. This is a receiver on the rise, and I look forward to seeing that rise take place in black and gold... Maybe the announcers will finally start pronouncing his name right
Final grade: B

Lance Moore: A hard start with injury and the development of the young guys keeping him off the field, but once he did get out there, he was good for at least 2 big 1st down conversions per game... his stat sheet won't jump out at you, but i'm sure that he was able to impart quite a bit of wisdom to our young receivers.....With our young guys stepping up, he'll never achieve the type of rapport with ben that say Jericho cotchery had, but we don't need him to... I don't believe he'll be with us long, but for the time that he is with us, he will produce..
Final grade: C

Darrius Heyward-Bey: Mostly filler and special teams ace.. I'm sure his time in black and gold will be shorter than Moore's. Never able to take advantage of his size or speed... Bey is the type of failed receiver that gets coverted to db at the high school level.. Makes a good decoy when on the field, but that's about it. Don't be surprised if we have a late rd., guy in the fold to push him out.
Final grade: D



Next up: Secondary

 

I have DHB at a C and I bet he stays longer than Moore . It is clear if you don't get practice reps with Ben he will not throw you the ball. I think in a very small sample size DHB looked a lot more polished catching the Football than he has in years past.

The Team also moved DHB around a lot he can play all the WR spots if needed that coupled with his ST'S play I predict he makes the Team again next season and they cut Moore for Cap space.

We will see.

 

You might be right about keeping DHB over Moore for $$$ reasons, but your assessment of DHB's play is nuts, in my opinion. And it has been all year.

 

I am a bit nutty.lol Rating him at a C not so far fetched . As I graded him as a 5th. WR as such I think average is a reasonable grade. If you compare his blocking and catching compared to other 5th. WR'S in the NFL he will come out average IMO . His blocking is better than average imo.

 

I think Brown and Bryant are going to tear the league apart next year. 1200+ yards for both and 10+ TDs for both I'm actually thinking 15+ TDs for Bryant. If Bryant follows Brown work ethic this could turn out to be one of the best WR duos ever. They are going to be a nightmare for defensive coordinators because the way the play is totally different and its going to be hard to game plan against. Bryant didn't get much work with Ben last year this year I think he will be lining up at the #2 spot right away and their connection will grow tremendously. The Steelers will have a top three offense again next year.

 

I hope our top-3 offense can put it in the endzone next year. Bell was #2 rusher and had awesome stats, but few TDs compared to the others in the top 5 RB. Ben tied for the top passer but is nowhere near the top guys in TDs. Only AB was at the top in all regards.

 

This.

Scoring more points would place this offense in consideration for one of the greatest of all time.