My thoughts on preseason wk 2

Flip the switch

 

He stinks!

 

They seem to trust him as a receiver and jet sweep guy, but I don't see the value if he's not going to be used on returns. Austin should be the punt returner ahead of him.

 

He wasn't talking about keeping Green on the 53-man roster as a fullback. He was talking about giving him the opportunity to make the switch to the position full-time on the practice squad. The guy would need more than a few practices in camp to do something like that.

 

He should have been gone after first preseason game , cut your losses and move on.

 

Agreed.


That said, he is still very much in development. Me and @JackAttack 5958 are of the same opinion of him; immeasurable upside currently capped by inexperience. He will get better in time.

Broderick Jones' first steps to do so are to coordinate his hands and feet, continue to improve on his leverage and increase his accuracy on his hand placement. Once that happens, speed that process up for the NFL Game Speed is essentially Light Speed compared to college. Fine tune his Footwork in Pass Protection along with the other fundamentals and basics then repeat.


Continue to do so and more of what Broderick struggled with will become less frequent. My guess is that the Steelers will fast track his development by having him as Tackle Eligible; the same vein they used Zach Banner, Chuks Okorafor and even Chris Hubbard before him. Once he catches on, he will become that much closer into being the starting Left Tackle.

 

Sendrick Van Pran good sir!! The top Center in the 2024 Draft!! Look him up if you have not already!!

 

Yet Moore.... not as high a draft pick ....didn't get this opportunity , and everyone bagged on Him. He was drafted , and thrown in as starting LT....., and some (not You) try to say money spent, or when drafted doesn't matter.

 

Hmmm...


Allow me to tackle your final two points. Regarding the whole Offensive vs Defensive Spending aspect, I pay very little to no attention to it; as you have stated. However, my reasoning is not so much because the Steelers didn't just have insufficient funds to acquire one. It is due to the fact that the Steelers were not only in a bad spot to pick an OT in 2021 but clearly wanted Zach Banner to be ready. However, ACL injuries are tricky and, after what happened to him in 2020, he clearly wasn't the same. Add the lack of a Vet Option and you have Moore starting not by choice but due to circumstances. The biggest reason I really don't care for the whole O vs. D spending pertains to my apathy on how much is spent but rather my sympathy on if the players being brought in can assist. Myles Jack is an excellent example of what happens when a high level contract doesn't pan out. For that matter, the infamous Christian Kirk is the prime example of what Free Agency is; Free Agency was, is and will never be defined about being good. Free Agency will be defined about how much is one willing to pay for a player.


Now, that explanation hopefully covers the money concern. When it comes to Moore being thrown in there though... a major difference. Both did play for SEC Teams and both were Left Tackles. However.... between Moore's Rookie Season vs. Brodericks... there is one massive difference. Moore came in the NFL with 36 Collegiate Starts at Texas A&M. Broderick has only 19 total.



Dan Moore did have good upside... but not to the level of his fellow draft classmates such as Christian Darrisaw, Samuel Cosmi or even Penei Sewell (though he was clearly not going to be a Steeler anyways). He did though, come into the league with the knowledge of the position. How to play it with proficiency was something he needed development with; something Adrian Klemm failed to do (more on him later). To say that Moore's Rookie Season was a Baptism By Fire is quite the understatement; Moore was taking his lumps game in and out. This is one of the reasons why the Steelers are not taking the chance on Jones like they did with Moore... though again, this aspect here can be attributed to a Coaching Failure.



Playing "Musical Chairs" with positional coaches is obviously not a good idea: a detriment to a young players development. Playing said game with an Offensive Line Coach is asking for your QB to get whacked. Hell, Adrian Klemm has even been on record in being non cooperative with Matt Canada along with asking around the league for advice on specific aspects of his role. After he left, Chris Morgan was Moores new OL Coach. Morgan didn't last long; Pat Meyer stepping in. Three different Coaching Changes in less than a year is simply not doable. It also didn't help that, heading into 2022, as many predicted, the Offensive Line would go through severe growing pains. Moore, as some knew, would take the worst of it due to his responsibilities of manning the blindside for Kenny.



The explanation above answers the second question (somewhat) in regards to draft position based on Blindside Tackle play; more often than not, it does matter for the Left Tackles who are drafted higher usually are replacements for those who are currently starting; 1st Round Left Tackles often starting right away. Regarding Moore, I would say that, like Chris Hubbard before him, he has clearly outplayed his Draft Slot through means of beingthe starting Left Tackle from Day 1; something that again only 1st Round Left Tackles usually can say. Most Left Tackles after Round 2 barely see much play time sans injury and most are Swing Tackles at that. However, Dan's Draft Slot is almost never something that fans often consider (as you mentioned); instead focusing only on him starting. The fact thar Dan Moore has started every game since he entered the league is nothing short of incredible. That said though, the reason why fans often use state that it doesn't matter where a player is drafted is due to the overall High Bust Rate among players in the First Round (as shown here). However, Offensive Tackles have the highest success rate among positions not likely to bust; Centers being the second. This leads me and you back to Broderick Jones and the excitement and hope for his success vs. Dan Moore Jr.s.



Now, fast forward to today and, the Steelers have clearly understood their shortcomings in properly developing Dan Moore Jr. Due to these lessons learned, the Steelers needed to ensure they nabbed an Offensive Tackle.. but not just any Tackle. They needed to grab the most physical freak of them all. Enter Broderick Jones. Jones possesses far more athleticism than Moore, is stronger than Moore and has an exponentially higher ceiling than Moore. That said, unlike Moore, Jones clearly needs development; hence the likelihood of Moore starting. What happened with Dan Moore during his Rookie Season cannot happen for Broderick Jones (barring injury of course). For that matter and, for Tomlins, Omar's and AR IIs sake... it better not. Keeping Moore on the field is just as important as keeping Broderick in waiting to develop. Why?!



Moore stated he did some training playing Right Tackle; something he has not done since his Freshman Year at Texas A&M. Moore Jr has been reported taking reps at Right Tackle in Latrobe. Clearly, Tomlin and Canada want both Jones and Moore on the field as both are athletic; Broderick being the Super Freak that he is and Moore Jr being very athletic. Canada's Scheme requires the Bookend Tackles to be both long and nimble. Chuks possess the length but is not the athlete that Moore is. Once Jones is settled in along with Moore being fully committed to the Right Tackle spot... Pittsburgh's Line will be much better moving forward....


.... I just don't see it happening though myself in 2023. 2024 though?! It is a must.