Time To Let The Old Heads Go

Sorry but its time to let the old heads go, now!

Aaron Smith, what has he done lately. Injured again and just standing on the sidelines. Just a waste of money. Let him go now and save some money, lets packages him in with, Casey Hamton to Philly for Ashante Samuels. Also use McFadden and Foote in the trade and get Samuels and a O-linemen.

Also get rid of Kemo because he is useless. They can probably use him in the deal and get a good lineman.

Also they have the option to cut James Farrior or just use him as a backup to Slyvester Stevenson. Its time to let the young guy play and learn on the run instead of Farrior getting burnt and missing tackles all the time. So it would look like, Worlids until Harrison comes back, Timmons, Stevenson, and Woodley, plus Samuels opposite Ike, Hokie and McClendon at the nose and Hood and Kiesel at the ends with Hayward as the backup who would get some good playing time keeping everyone fresh. I bet the defense improves.

Now the one big move that the Steelers should make right now is to make and even swap with Cleveland, Mendenhall for Payton Hillis. They should be all over this trade because we would get the better part of that deal. Hillis and Redman running for the Steelers. We get instantly better. Hillis is a far better back then Mendenhall. Mendenhall's contract is up after this season anyway. The Steelers need a better back. With this being Bruce Arians last year as OC, adding Hillis makes sense because then new OC can get the team back to the Steelers old philosophy.

In conclusion, the Steelers get rid of Hampton, Smith, Kemo, McFadden, Foote, Mendenhall, and maybe Farrior which; saves them major dollars. Its highly likely that none of these guys will be badck next year anyway. Thanks for your service but its time to go, and good luck!

You bring in Payton Hillis making our running game instantrly better. Two back system with Hillis and Redman which gives us one of the best back fields in the league. Ashante Samuels opposite Ike, givings us a formiable corner tandem. I bet both of those guys would love to play for the steelers and would raise there level of play. For the defense that means Lewis can be the backup corner and Gay would be the nickle sharing major time with Curtis Brown who would take over by playoff time. This would be Gays last year because Lewis and Brown are the future starters.

So get rid of six or seven with Farrior and bring in 4, Hillis, Samuels, and one Guard and one Tackle. One nose tackle if need be.

Thoughts?

 

I think you should say what you really think...


I agree with some of your points, but not sure about others. In particular, the idea that we'd get Samuels for Hampton, and anything for Foote and McFadden, is doubtful.

Smith is disappointing this year. He's been effective on a few plays, but just doesn't look like his old self. I also think that some other players have stepped up on the D-line - McClendon, who I never understood why we kept, has been playing well.

Farrior I'm not so sure about. He lost a step a few seasons back. BUT we also have to remember leadership, locker room influence and so on. You can't just sticl all the best players together and expect them to work (look at Philly). I was getting frustrated with his play in the first few games, but think someone made the point somewhere here that Farrior was actually better when he was the field more of the time, rather than rotating. I think he has at least this season still in him.

I don't believe that Hillis is better than Mendenhall, or that he is enough of an upgrade over Redman to warrant paying big dollar for him. The Browns are an average team in which star players look better than they are (with the exception of Cribbs, who is, well, Cribbs).

I agree that Kemo tests the patience, but I don't see the point of getting rid of him for yet more second-rate linemen. If we could trade him for Mike Pouncey... maybe. But even then I think we're downgrading.

In short: I'm not sure that the players you want to get rid of would fetch too much of a market, precisely because of their age. So, for the benefits we'd get, I'm not sure they outweigh dropping the likes of Farrior and Hampton.

 

Thigpen82, I really respect your opinion, however, itsx is time to let some of these guys go. What are they doing for the team right now? Both Hampton and Smith are doing nothing but getting payed for standing on the sidelines, so is Kemo. A complete waste of money. As far as Hampton is concerned, McClendon and Hokie are playing beter then him, so why put him back out there. Not to mention that Hood and Hayward are better if allowed to play. Why is it that every team in the eague plays there rookies and young talent and we let our guys sit on the bench, Stevenson, Worlids, Curtis Brown, Hayward, and many more. I feel that some of the talent that we have sitting on the bench is better then Smith, Hampton, Kemo, McFadden, Foote, Farrior, and Gay. I say put the young guys out there and let them do work. I really have no idea why Stevenson is still behind Farrior.

As far as veteran presents in the locker room, there are still many vets left to carry on after those guys. Ward, Miller, Troy, Ben, Starks, Hoke, Kiesel, Harrison, Ike and a few more. The few that I have mentioned, we can do without.

As far as Mendenhall is concerned, I believe that this is his last year with the Steeler. He is definently not as tough as Payton Hillis. Hillis is more like a Bettis type. Mendenhall is not really tough at all. I know for a fact that Redman is tougher then Mendenhall. Its time to get he hard core back that will not be dancing in the holes and will get the tough yards who is not scared to run. Im telling you that the Steelers will be much better with Hillis. It would be close to the Bettis deal.

 

I guess you can make a case for wanting to bring in younger guys. But Hillis for Mendenhall? NO WAY!

And plz don't ever mention Hillis in the same sentence as Bettis

 

I'm still not sold on Dwyer - though we need to see hum more consistently to get a sense of how good he is - but I'm also excited about Batch. Our RBs could well follow our WRs, initially underrated but grow into the system and then destroy the league.

Hillis may be a beast, but I just don't think that he's that much more than what we've got in our current RBs, in terms of their potential.


(Speaking of Redman - has playwitpoise made it over here?)

 

Hampton was the only man on the d-line who wasn't getting pushed backward in the first two games of the season. I don't think we have seen the end of Big Snack's value to this defense. Hoke looks great but I'd rather see him rotating with Hampton than Mclendon.

Smith I am afraid to say has become a run of the mill DE. He was as good as they get for a long time but I agree that age and injuries have caught up with him.

I've always been frustrated with Kemo. Apparently he is physically very gifted because he only has about two marbles rolling around in his head, and there is something wrong with one of them. I would like to see a replacement fond for him as soon as possible. With all of the injuries on the OL I can't even get a read on who that may be. Possibly pick up someone in the offseason or draft.

McFadden should remain a backup for the year and move on in the off season.

Mendenhall's stock for a new contract get's less valuable with every Redman carry. Only keep him for next year if he will come back fairly cheap.

Farrior is getting a lot of criticism for losing a step. He may not be able to cover WRs or fast TEs but at least he is covering the correct receiver. His decision making is far superior to any of the MLB on the Steelers. I feel like Timmons is a reasonably close second but Foote and Sylvester are a long way behind. Foote will never be a starting caliber MLB by Steeler fan standards. Sylvester may get there but he still has a ways to go. Farrior is worth every penny he gets this year. After the season is over may be another question.

 

Thigpen82, I haven't seen playwitpoise over here yet, or TSS. Looking forward to seeing both of them very soon.

 

I agree with some of what you stated, but not at all in entirety.

I would not trade Mendy for Hillis at all. Mendy is a better back. I know alot of guys miss the Bus, but Hillis is not the Bus. Backs like the Bus do not come around very often, extremely rare.

I would like to see Sylvester playing more, especially since we are using Foote, who is barely mediocre. Sylverster has very good instincts and a nose for the ball, he just need experience and with Harrison out and Timmons playing outside, now is the time!

I like our young DL guys too. With Smith hurt, we will see Hood more. I like Heyward and he will be a terror by next year with a full season and a training camp next year.

Farrior is still a good LB to be heading the D. He is playing well, even if he is not what he once was. Hampton is still a force in the middle, and I like Hoke.

It is definitely time to dump BMac, as now even not injured, he apparently cannot beat out Gay. I think Lewis is progressing and Brown is the future.

I do not think Samuels would fit in well with our defense. And he gets burned often too, if you pay attention.

Kemo, I can take or leave. He has alot of flaws in his game. It is sad that we really need guard help and our tackles seem better than the guards now. I am very happy to see Max back, and I think he is in better shape now than previous years -- getting cut was a wake-up call he needed.

 

Mendenhall for Hillis?? What are you smoking? Hillis looks good because he is the only decent player on the Browns offense and their O-line is stocked with top 10 draft picks. He is a flash in a pan.

Asante Samuel would suck in our defense. He is a poor tackler and only an average zone defender

 

Agreed Hillis is overrated and is not even a top 10 back in the league now.