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One more Ziggy thread?

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by benwallace17, Dec 1, 2011.

  1. benwallace17

    benwallace17 Well-Known Member

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    I hear alot of grumbling about ZIG here and in articles written on sites like bleacher report and such, but i also read the post gazzette and tribune review articles and usually here no negative talk about Ziggy in those articles. The latter being more trusted sources in my book. So i wonder if some of this fan angst towards him is expecting to much.....or what? I will admit I dont watch the d-line or Ziggy in particular during plays...I'm usually fixated on Woodley or Harrison. Yet i feel I can notice when a d-lineman is getting tossed around or not playing well as I did with A. Smith early in the season....and as another example Nick Eason in his early years with the steelers.

    what
    I' m actually seeing and wondering if anyone else agrees with me is Hampton might be done. I feel like it's him thats getting handled by one person almost to the point where I could say ALOT.



    also Heyward is going to be a beast. :flag:
     
  2. bigsteelerfaninky

    bigsteelerfaninky Well-Known Member

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    Hampton is probably done agreed
     
  3. Steeltradition83

    Steeltradition83 Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't read to far into any article on Bleacher Report IMO that website is a joke.
     
  4. Da Stellars

    Da Stellars Well-Known Member

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    Hampton is totally done...he got handled like a rag doll in the Bengals game on multiple plays.

    In most games this year I have seen only one guy is needed to handle him pretty well....this D is predicated on him taking up 2 BLOCKERS.

    Hood is not awful, he is pretty good....he may not be A. Smith, but then again who can?

    I don't think Mcclendon is our future NT, I still think they go out a find one in the draft or FA.
     
  5. GB_Steel

    GB_Steel Well-Known Member

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    Wouldn't be surprised if the big, fat, bull-strong and slow NT mold on this team is being phased out for a more nimble, athletic pass-rush threat. I'm thinking less Pat Williams/Tony "Goose" and more John Randle/Warren Sapp.
     
  6. Lizard72

    Lizard72

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    What I see is in the games he's getting "handled", he seems to be worried about getting chopped. You can see it with his head movement and where he's holding his hands, preparing to use them to push the chopper.
     
  7. Iowasteeljim

    Iowasteeljim

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    I think "big snack" is headed towards being "big nap". Why not? He has earned it. I have watched Hampton and, although he can still play, he is bringing the line down a bit. As someone else pointed out... he is not requiring two blockers to slow him down, which in turn, is causing problems on the entire line. This is a chain reaction throughout the defense. I am in no way saying Hampton is the problem of the defense but what I am saying is that they still set their defense up as if Hampton is playing at peak performance when they should be changing the scheme to adapt to what he is capable of now. I am not convinced that a switch to 4-3 isn't in our future. I think we have been drafting players that would excel in that defense, including Timmons.
     
  8. diehardsteel

    diehardsteel Well-Known Member

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    I'm not picking on Ziggy but I know what I see game after game. He get's blown up nearly every play. I'm not expecting him to be one of our sack leaders but I'd like to think he could stand his ground, maybe clog some running lanes, and occasionally make a tackle, but it just doesn't happen. Don't take my word for it; watch him this weekend and see for yourself.
     
  9. TarheelFlyer

    TarheelFlyer Well-Known Member

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    Ziggy will be fine. It takes a few years to really kick and and contribute in this defense. It just does. The scheme must be really complex. Ziggy and Heyward will both be fine. McLendon will be fine. I do agree we aren't going to carry more than 1 NT in the future. The new offenses require nickle and dime coverage so much that you end up with 2 DL, 4 LBs and 5 DB or 2 DL, 3 LB and 6 DB a bunch in games.

    I think our run D is struggling due to 2 things:

    1. Hampton is not what he was.
    2. Farrior is not what he was.
     
  10. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    I kind of agree here, but I don't really see too much drop off from their play last year. Certainly with Farrior, he's lacked a step or two for a few seasons. And we still had a dominating defense. Maybe they've dropped that extra step and that's what we're being punished for, but I don't see a huge difference in their play.
     
  11. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    i still think our future is cam and da beard as the ends and ziggy as the nose. :cool:
     
  12. diehardsteel

    diehardsteel Well-Known Member

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    So if I understand you correctly, you believe everything will be fine?
     
  13. benwallace17

    benwallace17 Well-Known Member

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    I feel like the highlighted statement above is absolutly happening...that would be exactly how I would descibe the way Ziggy has played this year. Like I said in my OP noticing a player on the d-line getting "owned" or whatever you'd like to call it, on every play is very easy to do and I truly havent complained about Ziggy all year yet while watching a game. When teams run the ball well agianst the steelers there seems to be no sign that they're "picking" on Ziggy or that side of the line either.

    Also, Woodley's production hadn't fallen off either, which could be seen as a sign of Ziggy stuggling. All in all like other posters have mentioned above he still is young, and I'd point out that he's perfectly built to be a 3-4 DE I truly feel in time he will be a beast somewhere on this line along with Heyward of course.

    It just really looks to me that Ziggy is playing exactly the way you say you wish he would....and maybe even a little better if you also throw in his tendency (along with keisel) to get his hands up and knock down passes.
     
  14. diehardsteel

    diehardsteel Well-Known Member

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    Sorry but with all due respect, I'm watching a different Ziggy Hood than you are. The one I'm watching wears #96 and usually is pushed so far away from the play he's not even in my TV frame until everyone's lining up for the next snap. And then the same thing happens all over again.
     
  15. Rambro

    Rambro Well-Known Member

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    I think ziggy iis doing fine also. He's not making the big splash plays but he's not getting owned on nearly every play. Also after rewatching the KC game I saw ziggy just barely miss a sack late in the third quarter.
     
  16. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Here is the thing about Hood. While everyone has heard it takes a good three to four years to really pickup up the intricacies of a the DE position in the 3-4 as run by the Steelers, which he does an adequate job at. it is when he has been called a pass rushing stud during camp and by fans and pundits alike that he seems to fail to show up for many of us. If you are going to be touted as a great pass rusher then when they only rush four and you are one of those four you should be winning the one on one match-up more consistently. Better yet when they are only rushing five you should be able to collapse the pocket and push you guy around more. Every sack I have ever seen he get is either a coverage sack, a sack where a LB chases the QB into him or an assisted sack when a LB get there first.
     
  17. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    :this!: I think he's doing fine too, but he was supposed to be a great pass rusher (as far as 5-techs go). That was supposed to be his whole thing, and he's really disappointed me there. You're absolutely right about his sacks. Most of them are when there's a miscommunication by the other team and he's left entirely unblocked. Not sure I've ever seen him earn one entirely on his own.

    However, I haven't given up hope. It truly is confusing how he is annually called a stud in training camp. If he was simply no good at it that'd be one thing, but all the reports are that in practice he consistently tears it up against our offensive lineme-- oh ok, mystery solved.
     
  18. diehardsteel

    diehardsteel Well-Known Member

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    Is there an official stat for "barely missed sacks"? Sort of like saying Wallace almost had a touchdown but dropped it or Mewelde almost scored but fumbled it. Your argument is laughable rambro. :lolol:
     
  19. Rambro

    Rambro Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, it's almost as laughable as blindly sayng Hood gets owned on nearly every play. Is there an official stat for "getting owned on every play" :shrug:
     
  20. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    I get your point, and his point is pretty weak, but it's not laughable or as bad as you sa it is. A "barely missed sack" isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great thing. It is a major disruption in the offenses play, and it's very likely that play will no longer be successful. Sometimes QBs can weasel a good play out of it (Ben), but mostly not. A dropped TD is always a bad thing.
     
  21. Rambro

    Rambro Well-Known Member

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    I wasn't trying to make it sound like "ohh he almost got a sack, he's our next arron smith" I was just trying to deflate the laughable argument that Ziggy is a scrub. He wassolid when Arron Smith went out last year and he pretty much has done what's been asked of him as a 3-4 DE in Lebeaus scheme. He's been solid not spectacular. He also got a sack today, it was a coverage sack though so it might not really count :lolol:
     
  22. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    QB crossed the line of scrimmage, so it really didn't count.
     
  23. BK99

    BK99 Well-Known Member

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    Watch Ziggy play, and watch 3 series, not just 1 and you'll see why there are people who are not so thrilled with him and that includes me. Do you ever see Ziggy get penetration? I see Keisel chasing the QB out of the pocket 3 or 4 times a game but rarely see Ziggy. In fact the tackle he made on Dalton Today was the closest I saw him to a QB this season and it isn't only getting to the QB that matters. I won't say he gets owned every play but I will say he doesn't get any push, even on blitz packages when o-lineman are backing up in pass protectionZiggys side never collapses, and there is only one reason, that is the Dlineman isn't getting any push on the guard, in fact if Ziggy had gooten any push today the tackle on Dalton would have been a sack as Dalton escaped through the area that was open as the guard did a great job of blocking Ziggy and only when Dalton passed him was he able to make a play as he could shed his block before hand. I want to see him do good and develop but if he is regressing or standing still after 3 years, how long do you continue to try and coach him and get him better? I think by next season if he isn't showing signs of getting better you draft someone and keep Ziggy for a back up and if he wants more money when contract time is up you let him walk because right now he isn't a top DE, he has the right build and all the tools but does he have the ability, that is what I'm waiting to see, and he isn't showing much in that department.
     
  24. diehardsteel

    diehardsteel Well-Known Member

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    Oh it counted alright. As a tackle, not a sack as you correctly point out. Dalton was flushed by our D that actually did make penetration. Ziggy just happened to be the guy Dalton ran past. He reached out and made the stop. The fact that Dalton was credited with a 1 yard run pretty much mean Ziggy hadn't gotten any penetration. It was a play any NFL lineman should make but did it deserve the "victory dance" he put on afterwards? Maybe for Ziggy making a tackle is highlight reel kind of stuff. P.S. Did anyone notice where Ziggy was while Heyward was living large blocking that opening drive FG? He was on his arse. Classic Ziggy. Hey, I want to see the guy do well, cuz it helps our D. We need all 11 starters doing their thing to make another Super Bowl run. But game in and game out I really don't see his contribution. If that ever happens, I'll be the first to give him some love! :flag: P.S. I didn't mean any offense with the "laughable" comment. I just never heard the terms "barely missed" and "sack" used in the same sentence before to describe a good play by one of our guys.
     
  25. 43FOLyfe!

    43FOLyfe! Well-Known Member

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    When it comes to Casey (my helmet doesn't fit) Hampton, I do believe barring some sort of serious injury, he will play out this year and have one more year and retire at 36.
     

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