T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree aren’t having the career years you think they’re having

Season was over when chickillo got hurt lol

 

TJ Watt is tied with his brother with 10 sacks on the year so far. They're tied at 4th in the league.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&statisticCategory=SACKS&season=2018&seasonType=REG

I am not worried about him.

Dupree has been functional at best as an average all around player. Unfortunately the pass rush is not his greatest strength. He does play the run fairly well as well as zone coverage. He is better than Anthony Chickalo who has not impressed me at all.

 

Pretty funny. The reality is though if people want to compare, Dupree has been far a greater threat in the pass rush than Chickalo how has one sack to date this year on a blitz up the middle.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&statisticCategory=SACKS&season=2018&seasonType=REGhttp://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&statisticCategory=SACKS&season=2018&seasonType=REG

He's not the answer at OLB either for the pass rush.

If I'm the Steelers, I'm targeting a pass rushing OLB in free agency next year.

Trey Flowers
Demarcus Lawrence
Jadaveon Clowney >> think he gets tagged. If not he's the #1 target. Know it won't happen though.

And others.

 

Like I always say, scheme is almost as important as talent . Nobody can tell me that the Pats have had the most talented team for 20 years. The reality is Belichek puts his players in a position to succeed via schemes. Look at the Rams. From the worst offensive team to the best due to a new coach. We are putting our guys in a position to succeed, finally.

I'd rather have the worst ranked individual DL but the most sacks then the top ranked players but the fewest sacks. The only ranking that matters is the win column.

Although I do admit that talent can overcome poor scheming to a certain extent .

 

You make a good point but I actually don't think the stats they present are saying that. They merely present a comparison of 62 edge rushers in this article. How do they rank among 62 other edge rushers? Apparently not so great when you look at beating a blocker to get to the QB. They only give one example of another player...they need to give more examples. I do think it means both players could do a better job of beating a blocker but that's not the whole picture when judging a player.

IMO there is not enough information in this article that should be presented. Who are elite among the 62 edge rushers? How does the style of defense affect an edge rushers stats? 3-4 vs 4-3? Is an OLB different than a DE or DT who's sole job is to get to the QB? The writer makes a point that Watt's stats are a product of scheme and play calls. What about a players ability to read and react? That IMO is what often makes a player great...their skill of reading the situation and reacting quickly is what makes a player great also.

The stats they present really only factor in physical dominance vs a blocker...which of course is important but not everything by any means. I would give you Greg Lloyd and Rod Woodson as examples of physical greats but IMO what made them elite was their ability to read offenses and react insanely fast. I'd also point out the 3-4 pass rush success always seemed to depend on the quality of the down lineman and the quality of the OLB on the other side. When Greene and Lloyd were destroying opponents they fed off each other. Offenses had to pick who they tried to stop. If the guy on the other side wasn't getting it done, the other OLB struggled because of it. In a 3-4 DT's have to hold their ground and take up space for the OLB's to have success. Last couple years I'd argue that our D-line was not very good...and our OLB's pass rushing skills were exposed because of it. I could be wrong but I'm guessing Watt is the focus of most opponents, like any top LB would be. I'd like to see these stats comparing the #1 pass rusher on each team...where does Watt rank among them, especially in the 3-4?

What this article fails to point out is Watt's ability to learn the defense so quickly. If he's not beating opponents by beating blocks then he's beating them by using his brain and quickness. Quickness that I would point out is definitely his strength. I've seen him break ankles of blockers more than once ...he beats players with speed. This fact allows him to delay pass rushes, drop into coverage then rush the QB , or just run around blockers untouched. Knowing Watt's work ethic and passion for the game, I hope he reads this article and uses it as motivation to improve this aspect of his game for next year. If he does that we could be looking at a future HOF LB.

 

I don't need a stupid article to see what both bring to the table. Watt is a game changer. Dupree is not. They will give Dupree his 5th year option due to him making small strides but hopefully don't open the wallet on a long term deal. He is average at best. I am still not sold on giving him the option. Chickillo will be an UFA after this season. Personally I like the kid and would hope they will resign him. It's hard to gage his play when he is a part timer. I believe Adenyi will take his place. The Steelers won't make an overpaid splash in free agency for an OLB unfortunately. They just don't do that.

 

Does it really matter if they're the product of the system or not so long as the end result is the same?

In fact, I prefer them to be 'products of the system' as that means that they are replaceable when their contracts are up and the Steelers can move on from them and use that money for players who are not 'products of the system' like Ben, Brown, Juju etc......

 

Joking aside chickillo and Tyler are pretty good backups who play great special teams. I like guys that work hard and shut up. You know, opposite of me lol

 

JJ is coming to the end of his contract with the Texans. We have cap space and would have to pay Bud this off-season or find a replacement. Highly unlikely but I wonder if we could get JJ. He seems to be watching a lot of Steelers games and tweeting about his brother a lot.

 

That’s a dream buddy lol hurt or not he’s better than all our D line and plus his bro would give him extra motivation.

 

I know but they seem really close and probably their dream to play on the same NFL team together. I think JJ could make it happen and would be down.

 

Can. You. Imagine...

 

You’re putting up career-high post counts and Likes/Hilarious/Winner ratings. But you’re totally not having a career discussion-board year.

 

I agree that the ultimate measuring stick is overall production v. expected. Who cares about one specific aspect, so long as the team is getting major benefit from the player?

 

Lawrence is playing on a franchise tag this season, you can forget about the Steelers going after him in FA, the price will be too high.

 

Just a product of the scheme.

 

Cliff Notes? My coffee break is only 10 minutes. Sorry - still have turkey hangover and I can't focus on much.

 

Im the Jarvis Jones of forum posters lol

 

The aspect in which this article is incorrect is based on whom the author is comparing T.J. Watt to and not so much the schematics in my opinion. On that note, the whole idea that T.J. Watt is performing well merely out of "scheme explotation" already discredits this article to begin with.



T.J. Watt is not the second coming of Vic Beasley. Far from it. Beasley was switched around from a defensive end from year one to a "SAM" Linebacker in year two. Year three he was injured and in this season, he is back to being a defensive end. In Dan Quinn's system, the 4-3 SAM is essentially a modified throwback 3-4 pass rushing specialist. While the SAM can play the pass, their primary function is to rush the quarterback and fill up lanes in the ground game.



If I recall, while TJ Watt did switch positions, he did not necessarily switched roles in the defense. The LOLB and ROLB, in Pittsburgh's scheme, have near identical responsibilities; their roles of being "weakside" and "strongside" being the only major difference. In Pittsburgh's scheme, both linebackers are tasked with defending the pass, defending the run and rushing the quarterback; all main area's have to be done well to exceptional.




In short? Improvement is dependant on the player themselves. No excuses. No exceptions. That in itself cannot be measured by analytics. Furthermore, this is another reason as to why character is so important when evaluating players.



Vic Beasley was a one year wonder. He has had injury issues since then. T.J. has not. I do not forsee T.J. being satisfied with merely one year of greatness.

 

Who?

 

I don't have a problem with Chickillo as a backup and would like him re-signed too. I just don't think many teams see him as the missing piece for their starters. He may get some sniffs but I think he stays.

 

whom?

 

Just stick to the original script please.

 

Sacks are what put the QB in the dirt right? Oh good. Then I dont really care how it happens.