Steelers to Undergo Major Changes

The problem is you can't keep them all. Over the last 10 years the Steelers mode of operation has been to make sure their best players stayed on the team. So much so that many now would argue that's been the problem ie, holding on to vets whose best days are behind them. When you talk about letting good talent walk you're talking about the Steelers of + 20 years ago. As for Lewis they're going to wait and see what the market dictates and go from there. Given their cap situation that's about the only approach they can take. I'm sure they don't wanna let him go but they can't afford to over pay him either.

 

Gone: Hampton, Harrison,Foote, Wallace, Mendenhall

On the Bubble: Kiesel (I think this is a maninly due to age move)

Stays:Troy,Keenan Lewis (will be resigned), Dwyer and Redman

 

Lewis I heard, led the NFL is defensed passes this year. Which that is impressive, but what hurts is this stat ZERO INT's. You got to come down with a couple of those at least.

 

I gotta say this and I know I might get dogged for making this comparison.

Let me just first state I can't stand the Patriots. That out of the way I can't help but look at what they have done over the last decade and with a bit of jealousy wonder how the F they do it.
They do splash in the free agency a bit more than the Steelers, but it seems to me they cut players at the right time and they build largely through the draft. But somehow they get the young talent they draft to play out of their minds.
So what the hell is happening in Pittsburgh? Poor draft choices or just not developing and coaching these guys to live up to and beyond their potential?

 

Kinda reminds me of Pittsburgh in the 1990s but with a great QB.

 

I have not heard any talk about getting a good athlete/ leader. They need to decide who will be the leader/s on both sides of the ball. Talent is one thing but it all goes down the tube if we do not have a couple of RA, RA men out their to keep the team up. And if Ben is the leader he needs help.

 

The people responsible for the Pats drafts are outperforming the people responsible for our drafts. It really is as simple as that. Normally the better a team is, the less likely they are to plug in rookies, as they're not needed. That hasnt' been the case for the Pats though, they're constantly plugging in rookies, even on offence.

I can't help but wonder if Cowher played a huge role in finding talent and Tomlin just doesn't have that same skill.

 

Call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind them going OLB with the first pick. If the right guy is there, I think that may be our biggest need. A stud OLB, I think, is the motor behind the Dick Lebau defense. It is what makes everything else go. If you get a guy who can quickly get to the quarterback, splash plays will start appearing every Sunday. Harrison and Woodley were getting no pressure this season. Heck, Timmons led the team in sacks with only 5 or 6 (the first time an inside linebacker has led the Steelers in sacks since they started keeping track). I think Harrison is done. I'm hoping he comes back, comes back healthy and, like Farrior did in '10, just -- out of nowhere -- comes back from a bad season and starts playing like his old self but I'm not sure he'll even get that chance.

 

This has been answered a few times already in this thread, but my premise is that you can find solid backs in the later rounds of the draft.

I do like Eddie Lacy though . . . a lot. He was a man among boys in that BCS game running through arm tackles of the top defense in college football. Not sure where he's projected to go.

 

shaner, i've talked about this before and i fully believe that cowher had more to do with helping colbert. thats why cowher wanted donahoe out of here. they butted heads over picks. cowher made colbert look better then he actually is.

 

I think on offense Cowher had exact profiles of what he was looking for at each position. He wanted to run the ball with a big back, and he wanted TE's who blocked like Tackles. He wanted possession receivers to catch 3rd down passes. If you know what you want it is easy to find.

Maybe Tomlin doesn't really know what he wants on offense? He kind of lets the OC and Ben run the ship anyways. If Ben wan't a big WR, I say give him a big WR.

 

the only trouble with cowher was he didn't feel qb was a priority. he was a defensive guy. we were strong on defense during his time here. he wanted a game manager on offense and a good o-line and run game. he was fine with a 3 point win. the rooneys made him pick ben. he didn't want him. times have changed in the league.

 

alabama runnig backs make me nervous. 5 first or second round picks driving holes through a front seven with 3 fist or second rounders. trent richardson is good but not what he was at bama. ingram may be underutilized in new orleans but if was elite he would be more used. the low number of elite backs that stay healthy long term make it hard to spend a first rounder on them when you could take a guy that will last ten years instead.

 

That is true, he might not have been high on a QB, but his success was his own downfall. We never were in a position to draft a high profile QB, we never had a top 5 pick draft pick. We were extremely lucky to land Ben at pick 11....

getting back to the original post...I wouldn't mind just letting all the old guys go and let the young guys have some growing pains...

 

Trent Richardson was arguably a top 3 RB in the league this year...as a rookie. Also keep in mind that he was injured all year long. Trent Richardson is everything he was at Alabama, and Ingram will prove one day why he was the Heisman winner. He just needs to get out of NO.

 

he did have picks 11,17,13,8,19,16,11. the last 11 pick was ben that he didn't want. rooney stepped in on that one.

MT's highest pick so far is 15 lawrence timmons, his first draft. which i don't think he had alot of input on. this year will be the next best at 17.

 

Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Ray Rice. hard to argue richardson into the top three. Lynch, Ridley, doug Martin, McCoy, Alfred Morris. could argue very average production out of richardson at 3.5 ypc. staying on the field is part of being elite. a #3 overall pick needs to be more prominent. that being said i still sthink he is a very good back. the point is alabama's line makes the backs harder to evaluate fairly, and running backs still have a hard time staying healthy over their career. i would rather not see one taken that high unless he is to good to be true.

 

I'm not high on lacy either. I like him but not for us in the 1st round. I also believe Dwyer could be more if given then chance, and he takes the opportunity and runs with it. He needs to put the time and work in that a #1 running back in the NFL would do. He did start this year but he was never the "main" guy. I think if we give him that title, he might surprise us. He has the potential, I think its up to Tomlin and Haley and Wilson to instill the confidence in him, and get him motivated.

 

I am sorry I have to disagree with you, I feel that Nick Saban knows exactly what type of RB
he wants. Ingram is underutilized because NO chooses to pass 50 times a game.
When your paying Drew Breese 100 million, you better be utilizing him. Ingram for Woodley
a change of scenery for both parties will do the soul good.

 

woodley need to be in shape ( i don't think is too difficult with a good conditioning coach) and he is a beast , you trade a premier pass rusher for a rb that fail in his first year ?

 

to start, i never said the backs weren't good only that you don't know how much is them and how much is the line. alabama as a whole is so good right now it's like evaluating a d-3 game and knocking the level of competition. also if ingram was that good he would get his, faulk did with the pass happy rams. never said he wasn't good either but i don't think if he was here last year anything would have been any different. the original comment was about drafting a back high in general and that lacey's stock is probably higher than i personally would like to pick him. i would be happy to have any of them as long as they're cheap enough and we don't have to give up any other pieces.

 

I said a few weeks ago, on a different thread, that this team needed to "clean house." That got misinterpreted as meaning "get rid of everyone," when I meant exactly what it looks like we'll see: major changes, with a lot of dead weight cut loose. We are now going to see exactly what kind of HC Tomlin is, because the Steelers are at a crossroads.

 

scary