Welcome to the Steelers Chase Claypool

I don't disagree with what he was saying or discount the expertise of the author, but I'm not sure about the non-homer thing. The piece you linked was under the heading IrishBreakdown. The author, Bryan Driskell, is listed as an editor and analyst for Sports Illustrated/Irish Maven. There is a definite Notre Dame slant to it.

 

I hope we are smart about technology use with players. There can be plenty of teleconferences, playbook study & discussion, workout assistance, and so forth. No, he's not going to catch balls from Ben daily but lots of other things can be worked on.

 

It speaks to bias. Just because he does a better job of putting his aside doesn't mean it isn't there. I'm more interested in the opinions of people who aren't locked into the Notre Dame side of things.

 

I think this year more than any other you’re going to see a wide range of where these guys are ranked due to obvious limitations in the scouting process. I’ve seen Claypool anywhere from rounds 1-3. To tell you the truth I’ve seen wildly different WR draft projections just about everywhere I look. Other than Lamb and Jeudy being the cream of the crop there doesn’t seem to be much consensus on the next 8-10 players. I guess what I’m saying is that I could probably find an article or snippet that loves all of these guys and one that isn’t impressed.

My only worry for Claypool is that our OC won’t put him in a position to showcase his strengths. I know we had awful qb play last season but Coach Randy didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the fan base.

 

It does. Good beat reports are usually great at understanding what is going on with a particular team, but I wouldn't consider them the best source when it comes to comparing the guys on the teams they cover to the other top players in college football.

Going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

It may be true and somewhat specific about this year, but honestly nearly every year the consensus on many players varies widely after the top 1-15 or even 20. The media 'experts' certainly do not have access to every (or any) team's boards. Some years the depth at one position may push quality players in the position down further in ranking, while lifting relatively weaker players up because there is a premium need in that position.

 

I think it is safe to say that Chase will have a bigger impact than others believe.

 

Claypool will help the Running Game as well contrary to popular belief. The fact is that, in today's NFL, the pass can help the run should there be an option to warrant such. Claypool being a deep threat will force teams to either add another defensive back and spread out the defense or back off coverage wise.


That creates a big opening in the inside or even the outside should the Receivers be able to block. All of our Receivers can. Not just Ben will be happy but Conner and McFarland too.

 

Yep.


Unless the team has a Jamal Adams, Derwin James or Isaiah Simmons, good luck. Even then, they alone can only do so much. Pittsburgh's Red Zone just got boosted in a big way.

 

That looked to me like more of a fan service page than something you might find on The Athletic or under the regular coverage on national magazine websites. The line between fan blog and journalism can be a little blurry on those.

I'd say my work covering Pitt was a better comparison. I didn't feel that my writing was biased, but I didn't see enough of college football nationwide to be able to compare Pitt players to those at programs across the country. Pitt wasn't really much on the national stage at that point, so it wasn't an issue.

 

Despite his speed, Claypool is still going to have to prove what he can do as a deep threat. I'm sure you've seen the reports and video as well showing that he needs to get better at tracking the ball on deep throws.

 

As abysmal as the O played last year, the running game suffered from the D having little to no fear of the passing game. The O line looked like crap compared to previous years and yes Foster did not help that, but teams constantly stacking the box was the main obstacle in getting any offensive rhythm (OK QB play not withstanding). Claypool does not have to be great, just reliable and decent in a few schemes to start and it will open up so much for the O. Another key is O sustaining drives (and yes completing them for TD's), this has already been addressed in hoe Ebron and Claypool should help. That said, it will also help the D. As good as our D is, by the last few games the number of snaps they had been on the field began to take its tole. Someone wrote that they felt the number if Int's was going to go up, maybe, but even if they maintain the takeaway ratio they had, .the O needs to put numbers up to correspond with that.

 

Chase has apparently chosen 11 as his number 8 + 3, I know that the league has rules on position numbers but I'd be ok with him doning Heeeeeatttth's number.

 

DeAngelo Hall's choice for Steelers 2nd round pick. This happened about one month ago.

 

I know his game came a long way during his college career, which makes me think he can improve on those weaker areas. I'm talking about people watching film not liking how he adjusts on deep balls, though part of that could have been a quarterback putting the ball in bad spots. Assuming Roethlisberger can bounce back, he's going to have a huge upgrade in the passer throwing to him from what he had at Notre Dame.