Serious issues with our talent scouts and draft decisions.

The Steelers are known for finding and drafting extremely well at WR, LB, DE, C, O-line in general, defense in general, even RB. So why have we made the bone head moves we have at QB? If management felt Ben was approaching the end and wanted his replacement, they screwed the pooch because the odds of getting an elite QB in the 3rd or 4th round is minuscule! If management felt Ben was fragile and wanted a competent back-up, they screwed the pooch because Ben's back-up, if he is injured, needs to play like Ben (intelligent pure pocket passes) to maintain continuity.

The 135th pick overall in 2017 on a running QB when our entire offense is built around a slow pure pocket passer?

The 76th overall pick in 2018 on a shot gun QB with questionable fundamentals? http://walterfootball.com/draft2018QB.php

I know it's hard to condemn or crown someone after such a small body of work but let's look at some facts about MR's fundamentals.

1. He doesn't keep his eyes downfield........you could blame this on poor play-calling by Fuchtner but when reality sets in and the rush is on, a real QB will revert to what they do under fire and he just didn't keep his eyes downfield.
2. He doesn't have a feel for the pocket...... you could blame this on poor play from the O-line but he just didn't seem to have a grasp of what the blocking scheme is around him.
3. He throws "all" of his passes from his back foot.....you can't blame this on anyone but him!

 

Steelers have had issues drafting QBs since the Mark Malone era. Let's be honest we sorta lucked into Big Ben in 2004. Bill wanted to draft Shawn Andrews? (The OT from Arkansas). I'm more upset with the DB draft evaluations. We had arguably the best WR, RB in the league...along with a top 5 QB and a top 3 OL.. and we couldn't figure out the defense for YEARS. Damn shame the defense finally showed up this season when the offense was gone SMDH.

 

as for Mason, I really think the game okie light played vs Pitt at Heinz field swayed them into thinking he was a special QB. I'm a die hard Texas guy, Randolph was solid..when he had time to throw and no pressure.. but the minute he began to take hits, he always got rattled. That same season where he and Washington scored a zillion pts vs Pitt was also the season where they put up only 6 pts in regulation vs my struggling Texas team..why? Because he got rattled as soon as he took a shot from Malik Jefferson and poona Ford.

I was really upset when we wasted a 3rd rd pick on this JAG.

 

Is it the draft picks or the system they are put into? I see ineptness at the db & te coordinators. Well before Austin has had some time with the dbs.
As far as drafting a quality QB, you usually draft your backups in the later rounds...to be backups, talking to you Rudolph. Can't get serious about our next franchise QB until we see one that can outplay Ben. A tall order imo.

 

We have not needed to draft a starting QB since Ben took the helm. Can't use a 1st round pick on a guy that is not going to play for 3 or 4 years.

Mason was a gift in the 3rd round. Most experts had him going in Rd #1. When you have a solid starter you can take shots on guys like Mason that have dropped out of the 1st round. Makes your fans happy when you get what all the boys on ESPN are calling the steal of the Draft. I believe the Steelers scored an A- on that draft, because of Mason. Mason is still not done; he may still be able to surprise everyone that has written him off.

QB is an odd position to draft because your backups do not play at all. Teams that are trying to win "Now", don't want to spend a #1 on a player that hopefully will never see the field.

 

We’re abysmal at drafting long snappers, that much I know.

 

I think he was "discussed" as a first round prospect because of his size and stats but if you read his pre-draft critique it is spot on.

1. Poor field vision.....check!
2. Terrible anticipation....check!
3. Poor progression recognition.......check!
4. Poor throws into tight windows.....check!
5. Shaky accuracy....check!
6. Staring down his first option....check!

 

I take it you did not watch him in college then?!

 

I sure wish NE didn’t waste a 6th round pick on TB?

 

Not sure this is relevant but since you mentioned him --

Stone said:

"The 135th pick overall in 2017 on a running QB when our entire offense is built around a slow pure pocket passer?"

---I ran across this when I was searching Steelers drafted from the 30 Official list or played in the Senior Bowl. Both Joshua Dobbs and Patrick Mahomes visited here[the same day] in 2017. They also visited with them at the combine and attended their pro days. [maximum attention] I wonder , did Ben hurt his arm a couple years too late?

btw: Early Ben was like the second coming of Air McNair. Most of his big plays came on rollouts to the right which automatically bought time. Now just about every QB in the league is making a living on that play which is simple to execute and seemingly unstoppable. [In case anyone forgot about McNair he was the guy that owned the Steelers for a decade or so a few years back]

 

Pretty much in agreement, but have 2, somewhat, opposing thoughts.

First, I think drafting a qb is 75% luck. How many teams actually consistently draft top tier qbs? How many first round qb picks net a top tier vs. later rounds?

The qb you choose has to mature on your timetable, not his. He has to fit your scheme and personnel. He has to be coached properly and utilized properly. None of that is on the qb. It's on the situation.

The second opposing thought is that MR throwing off his back foot is all on him. Sorry to sound like a sarcastic douche, but have you heard of coaching? It's this not-very-well-known concept in Pittsburgh that determines weaknesses and bad traits (i.e., throwing off back foot) and instructs athletes on how to overcome or change bad traits by replacing them with good traits.

Obviously it is MR who has the bad mechanics, but it is up to the coaches at the professional level to correct bad habits from the college level and maximize their return on investment.

MR's mechanics are solely on the shoulders of his coaches. They drafted him in spite of seeing he threw off his back foot. One should assume that they know it isn't good mechanics. One should also assume that if they weren't completely inept and terrible at their jobs, they would have already been working at correcting it. They haven't been. Not surprised.

 

I agree with a lot of this especially your third line. It seems more and more teams are changing to match the QBs rather than square peg -round hole scenario. All your other points are precisely why it was clearly a brain dead decision not to have a dedicated QB coach for the young QBs. Inexcusable. It’s pretty apparent Fichtner’s biggest strength is he’s Ben’s buddy. Do we even know if he was a good QB coach for MR first season? Canada was brought in(better late than never) specifically to help MR take the next step. Lets see how he does under the tutelage of Canada before we write him off after 8 games and a season of hell....

 

If you want to make a respectable argument you can’t cherry pick the facts. I have no idea if he was a good pick but you quote like you watched too much Fox News.


Strengths

• Great size and stands tall in the pocket giving him his true height as a passer
• Does a good job of letting routes develop and wide receivers clear traffic
• Slides in pocket for clean launch points and is rarely a static target for rushers
• Keeps eyes trained downfield when sliding around pocket
• Got rid of the ball quicker and cut his sacks this year
• Willing to throw in front of safeties and attack over top of linebackers in intermediate portion of field
• Has steadily improved each season and showed full command of the offense this year
• Saw 10 percent of his dropbacks turn into 25-plus yard completions
• Puts air under his deep throws and gives receivers a chance to make plays
• Reads safeties and moves to his progressions accordingly
• Ran zone reads around endzone and finished with 17 rushing touchdowns during career
• Willing to drop his head and go get what he needs

 

I refuse to be like “ all of the other reindeer “ especially after only 8 games....jmo

 

Try being led by this guy, how good could you be?

 

As far as the drafting in the past few years I wish we would just take the best available and stop picking projects. We do not have the coaching talent to develop them properly.

 

Exactly; The Patriots had their Franchise QB in Drew Bledsoe, so they were able to swing for the fences with a late 2nd day pick.

 

All of the old scouts are gone.

 

Rudolph = Landry Jones

Drafted to back up Ben

Would be a backup on just about any NFL team with a QB coach or with Fitchner

Terrell Edmunds was a better selection in the first round.

 

Let's step back a minute and really get a full picture.
I did not look up what our average (when we selected) pick was I am betting
about 19 each year in the past 15 years
We have never been able to evaluate Db's since Rod Woodson. High first round pick
We never needed to draft a Qb in last 15 years. We had a franchise QB. 2nd 3rd stringers see no time
this is the case with Mason Rudolph.
Player development has to be top priority going forward for the Steelers. Coach them up.
This is why a very competent QB coach (task master) was brought in.
We must find coaches to teach technique properly and fundamentals.
We must continue to find late round gems (IE AB) in all positions not just the WR position.

 

That same guy led the Steelers to the #1 redzone offense in 2018

 

Likewise, i have no idea if the MR pick was good or not. Clearly it was a calculated gamble, and clearly there were reasons the other teams passed on him.

The point about his movement in the pocket is interesting - I remember this being touted as a strength, and when he did it in games he was the better for it. But often he was rooted in the pocket (as Stone noted). Was this part of his learning curve (concentrating on making reads kept him still), or the o-line struggling, or simply an aspect of his game that's not translated into the pros? I guess time will tell...

 

And Bruce Arians led us to one of the worse.

 

Haley wasn't far behind Bruce when it came to the red zone. Even had a decent RB to complicate things for the defense but I regress.