We should of just tanked when we were 1 and 4

We could have had a super high draft pick for future quarterback and then a high second round pick to get another free safety. Fitz has played lights out but we needed a qb. No playoffs and no guarantee Big Ben ever returns to full strength. Lean year ahead

 

That's just not the Steeler way. And frankly, not the way that any competitive person thinks.

But let's play your game for a moment and say the Steelers abandon their integrity and competitive spirit and play to lose for 11 games just to get a high draft pick. Who out there is a sure thing? Name someone. Name a college athlete who is such a lock that he could guarantee throwing away a season wouldn't be a mistake.

 

Why just tank 1 year? We could tank 5 years in a row and really stock up on high draft picks. We can develope a culture of losing and become the new Browns. Yea baby!

I should've typed the above in green but my phone is out of green ink.

 

A couple years ago I followed Sam Darnold and thought he was a once in a lifetime cant miss QB prospect and teams should give up the house for him. Fast Forward and the jury is still out but Joe Burrow is that guy this year.

I still think development within that specific organization is important too and could make or kill a career.

 

Tanking and getting a high pick doesn't always work out and it is why we see teams that seem to lose all the time. How many 1st round QBs become "the guy" and how many become busts or just mediocre? There are a lot of busts, and when I say that I'm talking guys like our own Paxton Lynch, who end up as the 2nd or 3rd string QB rather than starter. Sometimes you find a 1st round receiver or defensive player that is practically a guarantee but not often. The fact the team got a pro bowl caliber safety that turned the defense into a real unit instead of a joke is better than getting a 1st round QB that may end up not being very good.

I'm an older fan and I can tell you that we suffered through the 80s and 90s but had defenses and running games good enough to compete some years. It took until 2004 to get a good QB, and if most of the first round QBs were good you wouldn't have teams like the Browns who struggle every year at that position. Look at the list of QBs they had since 1999 and they always have high picks. So if the team tanks they end up with the equivalent of a lottery ticket, nothing more and we all know how slim the chances of winning a lottery jackpot is.

 

Steelers are too proud to tank and tanking guarantees nothing. The real issue is that 8-8 TOMLIN will be around for many more years now!

 

And tanking would give the dolphins a better draft pick

 

I don't put a lot of faith in the draft as we get a lot of good players in lower rounds and free agency. Our defense turned the corner this year not because of the draft but getting MF and giving away our 1st pick. Besides, if a QB is great he is not so by himself and has a supporting cast that enables him to be great. So sacrificing a year for a question mark QB with our line and coaching, what a waste that would be.

 

Agreed. Tanking is not the way but 8-8 is a win for the office. Sucks lol

 

You don't tank, but there is certainly a question of long-term vs short-term strategy.

At the time of the Fitzpatrick trade I maintained that I didn't like it due to the uncertainty at the QB position. I stand by that argument even now. You have to have the QB position settled above all in today's NFL. Finding a quality QB in the draft is no guarantee obviously but you maximize your chances with better quality and quantity of draft choices. Tough to get the guy you want if you don't have the pick in the first place or the picks to trade up.

Minkah has been great, but he's a safety. He's literally touched the ball twice in the last 6 games. That's not to say he's bad, in fact, the exact opposite. He's been fantastic, but the nature of the game minimizes his impact vs other positions. Nor am I saying the trade was "bad", just risky. If Ben comes back as good as ever it was a great trade. If not, well...the incremental improvement in the team was not worth lessening your ability to find the next franchise QB.

My $0.02.

 

FWIW..I used to get that All 22 service that shows the entire field and even though a player will have zero box score credentials...it was amazing how much of a factor they played in the other team accounting for them.

I think having said that ...QB has to be the single most heavily influenced weighted factor in football IMHO.

 

There are no guarantees drafting a Qb in the 1st round. Look at Paxton lynch.

jury is still out on baker mayfield, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold.

the jack pot hit appears to be in Lamar jackson

and he was late 1st round, and the 4th one taken.

Your following the wrong franchise if you expect them to try to tank.

Plus trading for Fitzpatrick set us up for a great defense for at least the next 3 seasons.

 

We were spoiled for many years with Polamalu and Hope/Clark. The back end of our defense was solid and created impact plays. Additionally, they helped the front 7 by allowing more time for the pass rush to get home.

Admittedly, the secondary has improved as a unit, corners included, so it would be unfair to credit everything to Minkah, but I will say that I am quite happy with how the defense has gelled. We finally have a unit that can create turnovers and make splash plays with some regularity.

To me, it was worth the trade to lock up a player who we will have for 4 years (hopefully more with extensions) that can have a great impact on that side of the ball.

I agree with the previous comments about uncertainty and the draft. There are no guarantees (especially at QB). Also, I think it is with mentioning that those late round picks (swapping a 5 for a 4) will be even more impactful given the dolphins record and ours (it will be like moving up a round and a half in the draft).

 

Below is the list of the 22 QBs that have started in a SB for the last 20 years and which round they were drafted. The bolded ones were drafted by the team they took to the Super Bowl. A couple of things stand out.

a) Twelve are first round picks.
b) In the last 10 SBs, 9 of the 13 different starting QB's were first round picks
c) 15 of the 22 were drafted by the teams they led to a SB
d) In the last 10 years 12 of the 13 QBs were drafted by the team they led to the SB. Only Drew Brees wasn't drafted by the team he took to the SB and that was back in 2009. In the last 9 years then every single starting SB QB was drafted by that team and 7 of them were first rounders.

So if history is our guide if you want to maximize your chances of getting to a SB you better get a very good QB and the best way to do that is through a first round pick. And that trend is getting stronger over the last decade.

Trent Dilfer -1
Kerry Collins -1
Tom Brady -6
Kurt Warner -UDFA
Brad Johnson -9
Rich Gannon -4
Jake Delhomme -UFDA
Donovan McNabb -1
Ben Roethlisberger -1
Matt Hasselbeck -6
Peyton Manning -1
Rex Grossman -1
Eli Manning -1
Drew Brees -2
Aaron Rodgers -1
Joe Flacco -1
Colin Kaepernick -2
Russell Wilson -3
Cam Newton -1
Matt Ryan -1
Nick Foles -3
Jared Goff -1


Correction: Peyton Manning led the Broncos to a SB. So two QBs in the last ten years weren't drafted by the team they took to the SB.

 

I’m old, my phone is in black and white.

 

Ah, but this is backwards reasoning. You need to look at all the QBs drafted in the first round and see how many led their teams to SB victories, or even the playoffs. That is the logic you need to consider.

 

I understand why people hate the idea of tanking but how do you think we got Big Ben. We bottomed out and had a 6 and 10 season and picked him with 11 pick. What did we accomplish by going 8 and 8 this year or 9-7 and no playoffs? Big Ben is no guarantee to come back and watching ducks don Rudolph is brutal. We needed a quarterback this year even if Ben comes back and it would have been temporary pain for a chance at a future star qb. You don’t even have a shot picking ate in second round. You get Rudolph type guys unless you hit the lottery. We will be lousy with our two inept qbs if Ben does not come back. We will be in same position next year if Ben injury is bradshaw like.

 

I understand why people hate the idea of tanking but how do you think we got Big Ben. We bottomed out and had a 6 and 10 season and picked him with 11 pick. What did we accomplish by going 8 and 8 this year or 9-7 and no playoffs? Big Ben is no guarantee to come back and watching ducks don Rudolph is brutal. We needed a quarterback this year even if Ben comes back and it would have been temporary pain for a chance at a future star qb. You don’t even have a shot picking ate in second round. You get Rudolph type guys unless you hit the lottery. We will be lousy with our two inept qbs if Ben does not come back. We will be in same position next year if Ben injury is bradshaw like.

 

disagree.

No one disputes that any draft pick is in some ways a crapshoot, but the point is your chances of finding a franchise QB is higher in the first.

I looked at every QB drafted in the first three rounds over the last 20 years and found that there was a linear relationship between when one was drafted and the chances of them being the starter with that team for 4+ years. For first rounders it was 30%, second round 20%, and third round 10%.

When you combine that with how and when Super Bowl starting QBs come from the conclusion is clear. You want a franchise QB that will take you to the SB? You don't get that through free agency but through the draft and your best chance is in the first round. As you go down the chances of getting a bust get increasingly higher.

 

Go cry in your beer, some more about it .

 

Yeah let's tank so we can draft the next Mitch Trubisky .

 

We've seen it and it appears to have plenty of color JEH..........

 

Tell Mikey hello for me at XMas dinner tonight