Have the Steelers become a team of marginal players?

Maybe it is just me, but I am not too
excited with our roster. I can count on one
hand players that interest me.Here is hoping
we hit a home run in the draft.

 

I would say yes and no. On the offensive side of the ball on paper the group looks good, not to mention the addition of Mike Munchack and Blount. I'm more concerned with the defensive side of the ball, especially the corner position in today's league. You never really know though, look at Seattle two years ago. A bunch of unknown guys on the D that formed quite the unit.

 

And sometimes that's what needs to be done to break over the barrier into success. Kevin Colbert likes to talk about how we were an 8-8 team full of 8-8 players, yet all we do is go out and sign more 8-8 veterans in free agency to play on our 8-8 team. I think Mitchell and Blount are upgrades over what we had, but we take a very conservative approach to improving. Sometimes a team just has to take a leap of faith with the younger, unproven, highly athletic guys.

It'll be interesting if Seattle changes how they build their team after continued success and Russell Wilson's second contract.

 

we need to draft a couple of defensive star (a de and a cb )

 

3 of the off season signing (including munch) were great and keepers.. the rest were at very best marginal.. we are an 8-8 team... proven 2 years in a row and ben and troy played the entire year last year..that probably wont happen this season.. so i loook at a signing .. willl this help us improve over 8-8 like munch as a coach.. blount at RB the answer is yes.. mitchell is a maybe.. and the rest are a probably not..

HINES

 

No, but we do have a lot of fans who have marginal loyalty though.

 

Keep in mind the draft hasn't happened so it isn't like we need this roster in its current format for a game this Sunday. I like the moves. Additional competition and depth at positions of need. Many of these signings may end up being cuts depending on the draft and training camp. Darrius HB is one that comes to mind. Also it is a chance for these guys on one year deals to go to a successful franchise get a chance to showcase their skills and possibly work it into a longer bigger contract with the Steelers or another team.

 

how can you say yes to blount who will not start and maybe to Mitchell who is a major upgrade and will start?

 

Ben has a $12,100,000 salary this season and is 11th in average salary for QBs. We have no cap room because our GM has made a mess of our salary cap.

 

No, they will be in talent hell in a couple of years. Manning, Ware, and Talib will be gone, and their cap will be fine.

 

This is a great point. I'm the rare type of fan these days that believes they are rebuilding this team pretty well...and have also been doing a good job dealing with the cap situation. Colbert did not "make a mess" of our cap situation. We had talented players and a franchise QB and that costs money. You realize you're constantly criticizing a GM that built a team that took us to 3 superbowls and has navigated through those great players getting old and retiring pretty well.

It's just the ones criticizing him and Tomlin so much, seem to have a fuzzy view of the big picture..and are also letting they're expectations get the best of them.

Just look at it this way..we've been to three superbowls in the 2000's, we've lost almost the entire core of those players in a 3 year span, and it's never amounted to a losing season.

Also there are a lot of players I'm excited about on this team, there is obvious young guys that look like they will be great for us and there are still some young guys that haven't shown a lot yet but have the potential to open all our eyes.

Examples of players I'm excited about:

Bell, Wheaton, Decastro, Jones, C.Allen, Adams, Shark, Worilds, Heyward, Beachum, Mitchell and Blount.

Add to that the players who I already have complete faith in that are great NFL'ers:

A. Brown, Ben, Troy, Timmons, Pouncy,

That's a team with the potential of being very talented all around the field and that's before you add another draft class which is about to happen. It's not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.

The biggest concern is DEPTH by far not lack of talent.

 

Right now, I don't think it is so much Ben as it is not replacing our aging stars with new young stars in the draft.

We have had average drafts. Not bad, not great.

Have we replaced Farrior, A. Smith, Hampton, Harrison, Faneca, Bettis with equal or better talent through the draft? No!!!!

 

and a lot more that see through rose color glasses..
thus 8-8 they see as the cup is half full.. not to mention any names

HINES

 

NO.. most of them have a super bowl ring.. or 2.. the current guys have a 16-16 record over the past 2 years.. you are 100% correct ..

HINES

 

did ya ever see them play?

HINES

 

Because Colbert kept restructuring his contract. His pay is $12.1 million, which is dirt cheap for a QB of his caliber.

 

We have nothing left to show for our 2008 and 2009 drafts.