What are we doing?

It makes sense what you are saying but I look at it as the law of averages. Every position you draft for is a gamble. The QB position is probably the biggest gamble because it is the most difficult position. My concern is that our system isn’t the most QB friendly system so the QB is already positioned at a disadvantage. I understand our system is relatively simplistic and its heavy on play action but thats only part of the story. Our offensive line isn’t QB friendly yet. Our receivers aren’t the most polished route runners even with Metclaf so you have an element of the QB holding onto the ball to throw the go ball because thats where are strength is WR wise. We shy away from throwing over the middle of the field at times it seems schematically because Tomlins philopshy is fear based. That in turn makes the offense more predictable and thus harder on the QB and the receivers. In addition the run game is sporadic because the offensive line struggled to block in that area amongst many other issues that caused it to be middling.

I don’t think a rookie QB is going to do much to make of the above better unless they are ultra talented and can play above the schematic issues. This my whole problem philosophically with Tomlin. He drafts guys and often times tries to fit a square peg into a round hole and he stubbornly sticks with it regardless of wether it works or not. He does it at running back, ill, and many other positions was well, instead of adapting the scheme to a players strengths. It is really frustrating. We did that with Dotson as well. A tell when a coach is to rigid in his thinking and to married to his scheme is when players come from somewhere else where they flourished only to fail or be average here, or go from here where they were average and thrive somewhere else.

You watch Dan Moore this year. He was obviously looked upon much higher outside of Pittsburgh than he was here at least by the fan base. A team like the titans throwing alot of money at him tells me they think there is more to develop with him which tells me they don’t believe we did a good job with him. I fear the same thing is going to happen with Broderick Jones.

Another thing. I thought it was a desperate move when we drafted Najee in the first round. Then we went to a outside zone rushing offense and it was clear the Najee didn’t fit that scheme. We did the same thing with drafting Artie Bruns. We missed on a cb (forget the name) the Bengals took the guy right before our pick but we were desperate to get a cb that year so we reached. We did it with Pickett a few years ago. I just don’t want us reaching on a QB just because we need a QB. There are plenty of other needs on this team, enough so that we should be able to find a high pedigree player to fit one of those needs in the first round. The way I see it we could literally draft a NT, DT, OT, OG, S, WR, CB or RB or QB in the first round this year. There are some I would prefer prioritize over others but the needs are there at every one of those positions.

 

I wander why other positions on the Steelers get time to develop, but the QB position with the Steelers does not. Now
I don't know if KP will ever develop at the NFL level, but I do know that his chances of developing or succeeding with who
he had coaching him at the Steelers were against him. Afraid to make mistakes.

 

frazier?
mccorrmick?
TF?
moore?
pickett?
jones?
najee?
warren?
pickens?
JPJ?
rudolph?
benton?
watt?
highsmith?
bishop?

long list of guys that they didn't really give time to develop. they got thrown into the fire immediately. at least a lot of them.

 

I guess I worded it incorrectly,

 

Well he definitely wasn’t playing relaxed here. I think Tomlin gets so into their head these guys play below their capability. Part of being the head coach is you have to instill confidence in these guys. Sheduer Sanders is one guy who I think is very confident and it would be hard to rock him even with our conservative ways of coaching.

I believe it takes a certain type of guy at Qb to do well under coaches like Tomlin and Belicheck. They aren’t Qb friendly coaches. They are more worried about the turnovers and ball control. That style of coaching doesn’t always evoke confidence in the QB and they sense it and I believe it affects their play. The perfect guy for us would have been Baker Mayfield. I really wanted us to get him after the Browns let him walk. He has that confidence that is hard to shake from a coaching and schematic standpoint. The only time he plays sloppy is when he is under duress because of poor protection, but what QB doesn’t.