Question

It pains me but Mitchell would have to be mentioned.lol green last year

 

All the more reason I stated "yet again".


Furthermore, I did not dismiss the notion that the Patriots were not the top gun in the conference either.

 

We are going to sign Revis, Flowers, and Verner and have the best secondary in the league.........if only it were 2014.

 

Nobody. They shouldn't have signed anybody. They should stick with a 40 year old edge rusher and a CB they have so much confidence in that they gave him the minimum qualifying offer which essentially begs him to go out and find employment elsewhere. We can say what we want about the Pats' moves but the point is they're not resting on their laurels the way the Steelers are. I just think with Ben's window closing faster than even most of us may realize, the heck with a mid-tier, under the radar signing. If ever there was the time for an upper tier, splash signing it's NOW IMHO.

 

You didn't answer the question.

 

I liked the safety from Arizona. I'm a fan of Stephon Gilmore and thought he may be a good fit. Not a huge fan of Dre Kirkpatrick, but I think he has some talent. A couple of other decent corners have been gobbled up including Bouye without so much as a sniff from Pittsburgh. I thought even a guy like Prince Amukamara would have been a cost effective option on a one year, prove it deal which he signed elsewhere. We'll see what the Steelers do in the days ahead but we've got to shore up the CB position with guys who can play press man and compete at the line. Oh, well. Maybe we'll re-sign Gay or make a trade for another Boykin or Gilbert.

 

I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying
And I've never been a fan of "breaking the bank" for any player, but we continue to be a couple of DBs and an edge rusher short of getting over the NE hump in the AFC and Ben's window is closing fast. I'm disappinted because I thought we'd be more active in our pursuit of impact players and had more cap money to work with than in years past. We'll see what the Steelers do with the lower tier guys who are nice players I guess but don't have the kind of impact needed to put a team over the top. Both the Patriots and the Ravens have signed impact DBs this off-season (and last off season). They've gotten it done. But I guess we're smarter than they are.

 

I guess I don't see how we would know how active a team was being, other than the one that actually gets the signing.

As Blast said, we were linked with some big names. Those big names signed in many cases over the odds, which might suggest numerous bids on the table...

 

Get real, the Patriots overpaid for Gilmore the Steelers were never in the running for a player like that. The Patriots had over 60 million in cap space, the Steelers had around 20 million. Bouye had one good season, and the dumb Jaguars gave him the richest contract ever for a CB .

 

Right, cuz the Patriots are dumb and we're smart. They overpay for key players and we shop for bargains. Good thing we know what we're doing and the Pats are clueless.

I get that the Pats have more cap space, that's a valid argument. But let's not all act like the Steelers are so much smarter than these other teams who have made aggressive plays for these quality players. I think KC and the Steelers are getting out-maneuvered in free agency and in managing their cap space. JMHO.

 

A related article:

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/7-who-made-a-difference/d7d1295a-ce4e-496e-8e09-1c50a6450b15

 

I'm not saying the Steelers are smarter than those other teams, the Steelers weren't going to make a splash signing after taking care of Bell and AB. None of those CBs that got those big contracts in FA are ALL-PRO type of players, let those other teams screw up their cap space. Most of the edge rushers in FA re-signed with their old teams. Hightower is out there but he isn't worth 40-50 million, he hasn't produced on a consistent basis.

 

Add Clark to Bettis and farrior, and bingo... Though at the time he wasn't household name status, but he's one of those good pickups that they rarely have, and is a lifetime esteemed for it I presume

 

....and the jury's still out on L Green.

 

They got Bettis in a trade.

 

Indeed. Allow me to piggyback your comment for further clarification regarding those two ways... if you do not mind.


Some fans still do not understand that the Steelers operate with the objective of long term success. Since 1970, the goal is to always win championships but perserve just enough talent to maintain stability and create a foundation for the next generation of Steelers players to ensure long term success. Even after the advent of free agency in 1992 (excuse me, Plan B), Pittsburgh still stuck to its roots and the results have been as successful for us. Sure, we are not going to spend as much as the other team even if we did have the money. However, why invest in players who may or may not work in your system where as you can retain your own and continue to develop in the draft? This is one way many teams have done. The other is the "Patriot Way."




The Patriots, on the other hand, maximizes a players talents that fit what they are best with and are released once their value has depleted. Many of us thought it was ludicrous how Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones were cast off; Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long being adequate enough replacements to help them push towards a Super Bowl victory. What the Patriots do best is find which players are not only ripe for their teams needs but also how much are they in their prime. Such is the reason why former Patriots players seldom, if at all, work out anywhere else. How New England has remained to stay successful is thanks in part to Belichiks mastery of knowing when a players best years are, finding out if they will work well with his system and nabbing them.




Regarding both in the current free agent market however, both teams have been successful in free agency without big amounts of finances. It just so happens that this year that both teams have enough to play a bigger role should they elect to. Pittsburgh thus far does not find it necessary to spend big on talent whereas New England has to. Stephon Gilmore and Brandon Cooks are not just shiny new toys as some might make it out to be. Those two are contingency plans for the following;



1.) For Stephon Gilmore, it is about setting the stage for a new corner should Malcolm Butler not return. Given Butler's performance and Gilmore's new contract itself in addition to the market value of top flight corners, Butler could be gone at any minute; all the more reason New England had to place a first round tender to him in order to obtain something of "equal value"for the negotiating party.




2.) For Brandon Cooks, it is about improving their multi arrary of combinations with Julian Edleman and Chris Hogan as Danny Amendola has not been the answer and no one else is good enough depth wise. Much like us, the Patriots receiving corps is not as good as one would believe. Acquiring the likes of Cooks was the only sure fire improvement they had.





Either way, in the end, both the Steelers and Patriots have been successful just as Blast has alluded to. Their ways are different but both have been successful.



To end this, those that want to splurge on money for players and hope for instant success, look no further than the New York Giants.



$200 million in trade for a one and done NFC Wild Card loss? Not sure if it was worth it now given their financial situation.

 

Doh!!! Forgot damnit. Now I have to yank a hair hahahahh

 

Yes, it very much is..

I thought he was a great pick up.. He still might be, even if he is just competing with Jesse James, or others..

He didn`t live up to expectations...

Neither did Sammy Coates. (Hard to catch a football with several broken fingers)...

Still...

Glad to have him on our roster...

We are strong on people that can catch the ball...

I want more D-fense....

Thought we had a shot at a guy from the Pat`s.
Lb De`Vonte Hightower, I think, seemed like a good replacement for Timmons..
Maybe even an upgrade at this point...

Glad I don`t spend the money...Can`t even remember his name, but, I know I read that they were looking to get rid of a MLB..

And we could use one...

GO STEELERS.