ILB

With Farrior gone, we basically have Foote and Sylvester (if he is ready) to start with Timmons. There is alot of talk about taking a 1st rounder for this position, but not so sure that will happen. I think there are only 2 who may be able to start, Kuechly and Hightower. If we do not get a 1st round ILB, do we just go with Foote or SS?

What about McClain from the Ravens? He seems to be a pretty good ILB and coming into his prime. I have no idea what kid of money he wants, so I am just asking. I personally think he would be alot better than Foote.

 

No doubt he would be better than Foote. Though I'm not sure that's a badge of honour that's too rare to find.

I agree with you as well that ILB might not happen in the first round. But I think our history says we go out and get the LB equivalent to Arnez Battle to sit in, rather than somone like McClain.

 

keith butler and alot of the scouts, MT and colbert were down at miami looking at sean spence.

 

Think a lot of it is going to do with how the coaches view potential replacements who are already on the team. Do the Steelers believe that Sylvester is ready to step in to start? Do they believe that the best move is to make Ziggy into a nose tackle? Do they have faith in Mundy as a starter if Troy goes down again? I believe that if the answer to these is no, then they become our major priorities in the draft. Any that they coaches answer yes or maybe to, they move further down the draft list, but not off altogether.
We can get a starter 2-3 years down the road in the 3rd or 4th round at ILB, I believe. If we need one next year, that kind of takes the third or forth round pick out of it.

 

it's not all about farriors spot either. the worst case scenario is if timmons would go down. i think ivy , foote and sly can hold down farriors old spot for a year with timmons on the field but we would be in deep doo with foote and sly with ivy as the main bu.

 

Well if Carte or Worlds devlope more than you might see Harrison ias ilb as a rusher.

 

too light i prefer nigel bradham

 

Sean Spence has no chance in a 3/4 defense 5'11 230 lbs.

 

Foote 6-1 239
Ivy. 6-1 239
Sylvester 6-2 231
Timmons 6-1 234

I don't know what farrior measurement were but he was about the same as the rest of the inside linebackers. I wouldn't say no chance.

 

exactly. he's not far off from what we have. he is a very active guy that plays alot faster then his timed speed. he's not a 1 year wonder either. he gets to the ball and makes plays. don't under estimate him. the steelers aren't.

 

two linebacker i like :
nigel bradham 6,2 241 florida state
demario davis 6,2 235 arkansas state

 

I'm curious what the coaches do think of Sylvester. We only saw him for one game. Many fans and media guys felt from that one game he is not ready, but I think they might just be making too quick a judgment.

He looked like he just had some first start jitters, I can't say he is "not ready".

 

Sly is thinking too much instead of playing, he has all the tools to be successful
He will suprise alot of people, he likes to hit. he will replace Foote about halfway into the season.

 

Pick up Tulloch in FA?

 

I agree with what your saying, you don't have to be the "ideal" size at a position
To be good.

With that said, there's no way I beleive Timmons still only weighs 234
That's what he was listed as when he was drafted, but he's definitly heavier now
I'd say at least by 10 lbs.

 

If only there was actualy game footage of Slyvester's 11 plays from the Patriots game. How about James Michael Johnson in a later round ?

 

that would be good ,

 

i'd rather us get a draft pick. kuechely may fall some i think. he's very instinctive, and able to get off of blocks pretty well when they are head up on him. he gets toward the play quick because of insticts. he however is not a thumper by any means. he's more of a drag down tackler. sometimes he takes bad angles to the ball carrier. he decent in pass coverage because he recognizes it quickly.

if you look at his game compared to spence, you will find the same type player. they are both quick to recognize the play and where it's going, and quick to get through traffic to make a play on the ball. those are usually guys that can handle the green dot. they see things before they happen, because of sets and quickness to read keys. they both run to the ball well and avoid blocks. some teams prefer the thumper type of players some prefer heady players, it all depends on where they are needed and who they are playing with. either would be a nice fit with timmons. they could also work with sly if timmons were out. he would be the thumper and blitzer. they would also allow timmons to do alot more things.

 

Here's the deal, we need a bonefide young stud to replace farrior.We would be stupid to not get hightower in the 1st and then a guard in the 2nd.When its 3rd and 15 and the opposing offense pick up first down because we cant pressure on qb then I don't want to hear any complaints because this is what will happen if we do not address this position.Heres another one,we are use to our run defense shutting down opposing rb's,well how about rb's averaging 100yds against us and defense can't get off the field?If nothing more then not allowing the N.E,Denvers of the league from picking him up.Stop settling for mediocre and start drafting like we use to.

 

hightower had 5 sacks in 4 years. so now he's a can't miss sack master in the nfl. a can't be without guy that will get us off the field in 3rd and 15. you guys are making him bigger than life. if the best in the business have a hard time getting there, what makes you think this kid will be the end all be all? he's not even the top LB at his position but we would be stupid not to over draft him in the 1st round, and not have a guard to protect the highest paid player on our team that we would have a very hard time replacing. c'mon man!

 

I agree with you that ILB is a need in this respect, but I think you're simplifying it slightly to say that we plug in Hightower and suddenly all our pressure problems are sorted. I think the lack of pressure last season was as much to do with injuries to Harrison and Woodley, the endless non-holding calls, and a defensive scheme that was designed to respond to the strategy of dink-dunk passing us into the ground.

 

did you see the number of hightower ? short shuttle 4,68 cone drills 7,55 ? was worst than olineman

 

When Navarro Bowman was still available 2 years ago in the 3rd round for us, I wanted to draft him. Sanders was a good pick though. But I think WRs are easier to find than a very good atheletic instictive LB that could be versitile. If anyone watch Bowman at PSU, you could tell he was a can't miss prospect that had a huge updide once getting to the Pro level. Harrison/Timmons/Bowman/Woodley -- wow.

 

brandon hicks from florida and morty ivy from wvu. hicks looks pretty quick and covered alot of ground from ilb and olb from the highlihgts i saw and did play in the SEC. he was a final cut from buffalo last year. ivy was on the active roster last year and looked pretty good in preseason. plus we have mcfadden who we haven't seen yet, so the cupboard isn't totally bare. until we see what our guys can do, we may not see a LB til later in this draft. they were looking at good and the OLB at wvu pro day too. who knows we may have a guy sitting right here under our noses, that can play. we do pretty good at coming up with LB'ers here, so i will trust their judgement on that position.