Switzer...

he hurt the shoulder in 2018. Had surgery for it after the 2018 season.

 

If he had left out all the whining, he would have got respect. Not with that statement. He dug the hole deeper.

 

Well the Steelers should just cut him, and save whatever money his contract is.

 

How did a bad shoulder make him lose his quickness?

 

This thread is like a zombie that needs to be taken out with a head shot. LOL.

 

never said it did. I said he was a different player before. Looked like he didn't want any contact after.

 

Maybe if he would stop crying on social media fans wouldn't "bully" him!!!!

Here is the facts about him, drafted in the 4th round by the Cowpies. Never played for them and 4 months later was traded for a 5th to the Raiders after the Cowpies felt Hurns, Autin and Gallup were all better options. Then while at the Raiders they brought in Bryant, Nelson and Whalen and here is what happened there:

He still had a shot to carve out a role as a returner for the Raiders, but returned just three punts in three preseason games for a total of two yards and two fair catches. Fellow offseason addition Griff Whalen had a stronger showing during the preseason, leaving Switzer as the odd man out.

Enter why he is here now:

Switzer moves from the Raiders to a Steelers team that hasn't been afraid to take fliers on players discarded by other organizations with mixed results (see: Justin Gilbert, Darrius Heyward-Bey). Pittsburgh is fairly thin in the return department, slotting offensive and defensive starters in at the kick- and punt-returning positions.

For a team that has its eyes on a deep postseason run, a few less run-ins with defenders per game for players like Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Artie Burns is worth a low-risk trade for Switzer. It also provides another chance for the former North Carolina Tar Heel to establish an NFL career, with a reminder for Switzer to rent, not buy.

Much like DHB he was brought here for one reason and IMO he wasn't very good, was he bad no just not good. Now we have DJ who can do it so why waste a spot on a guy who's only value is ST? Did he have a good 2018 that is up in the air, 36/253/1...7 ypr but the key stat for me is of those 36 recp 15 lead to 1st downs. Now my problem with him is we have Juju, JW and DJ all ahead of him. So that means he now becomes a 4th, well what about Cain? MY OPINION is Cain has way more upside than Switz. Cain is 6-2 and 23 years old as appose to 5-8 25 years old, also Cain showed some promise in his little time with us. Also Switz's 825k is on the top 51 for our cap and Cain's 675k isn't.

This is the way I am looking at it, we are talking the #4 WR at best who has more upside? Also there is tons of talk about us drafting another WR this year then where does that put Switz? I am not a hater or a bully I am just calling it the way I see it as far as MY OPINION on who I would rather have on this team to produce. The whole Edleman comparison is BS maybe some here think that but obviously 2 other teams didn't see it or he would have been kept and he is struggling for playing time here so maybe it is 3 teams. Also the fact that him and Ben are so close does rub me wrong and the fact that Switz uses social media to complain is a joke. Maybe JW should have used it what Ben threw him under the bus, I mean in Ben's own words:

"James just needs to run through that and that’s a touchdown," Roethlisberger said. "I know he’s a rookie, but you can't be out there if you're not going to make those plays for us."

Switz if you can't make plays you shouldn't be out says the captian.....or maybe that only applies to certain people.....

Either way some here are getting their panties in a bunch over a guy who has a CHANCE to be our #4 WR at best.........just sayin.

 

Maybe they don't want DJ returning punts anymore with his worth to the wr position. They tried to find a guy for punt returns so AB wouldn't have to do it either. For years they tried. They did bring back quadree henderson for camp 2.0. Maybe he gets the nod.

 

I know you didn't say it. I meant that as a joke and a reference to how slow he looked. You make a good point. Perhaps that was also why he looked so much slower. He just wasn't as decisive and aggressive with the ball in his hands in 2019.

 

I can imagine the Steelers not wanting Johnson returning punts due his value to the offense, but he is also a hell of a weapon back there. It's a tough balance, but I don't think Switzer is a viable option to take that job back.

 

To me Switzer's spot is probably mostly about the draft. In my most recent mock, I got Antonio Gandy Golden in the 4th round. If I get a guy in rounds 2-4 at the WR position, his spot on the team is in danger.

Now if we don't draft a WR he has to beat out Dean Cain and Darboh and whoever else we bring in who are fringe players. In that case, I think Switzer makes the team, but its mostly due to his relationship with Ben.

 

I would prefer them to draft a faster WR than Golden.

 

They should take returns away from Switzer. He's not good and Johnson did prove that he can handle the ball security well enough. He is certainly much more effective on returns.

They normally keep six, but you'd think they will need six worth keeping. Those six have included a guy who is a key component of the special teams in recent years, Heyward-Bey and then Holton last season. Right now, I don't think they have a receiver like that on the roster. I do think Ebron could also affect how many receivers they keep. I'm guessing he will stake some snaps that went to wideouts.

One other factor is what they will do at running back. Assume Conner, Samuels and Snell make the team. Do they keep Whyte as a change of pace and kickoff returner? What about Edmunds? They seem to like him on special teams. That could leave them with six running backs once you count Watt at fullback.

I don't think any receivers are guaranteed a spot after Smith-Schuster, Johnson and Washington. Cain is a pretty good bet to make it. If they don't draft anybody, that leaves Darboh and Switzer as the next best options, which makes me think they really need to draft somebody or find a Holton/Heyward-Bey type as a free agent.

 

There is also not only the question of how many they keep..it’s how many they dress. I can see either Cain or a draft pick being the number 4 . I say that because one or both of them are most likely to be the gunner on KR and PR. Switzer offers absolutely no value there. I also see them leaning towards a pick at WR who has some returning skills in his background. Ben is already saying he wants to use Ebron outside so there’s that as well. A draft pick at RB hurts his chances even more. I believe the 5th or 6th WR whether they dress or not needs to have a decent upside both in STs and as a WR. Switzer offers very little at both. Seems like a wasted roster spot to me. Jmo.

 

I agree and would like to see a guy with speed that needs to be accounted for. This offense has been at it’s best in recent years when we had that threat. From Bryant and even Coates were making defenses respect the deep ball. It opens up a lot of things including the middle of the field where we’ve been bad at exploiting the last couple years.

 

I totally agree that field position "improves" chances of scoring. I also agree about field position determining playcalling. But once you're out of your own red zone, the playbook is pretty much open.

But where was our average starting position with Switz and then with DJ? I have no idea what the exact numbers are, but I will be surprised if it's dramatically different. I would also be surprised if the average return is more than 20 yards in DJ's favor.

Again, the onus is on the offense to move the ball regardless of starting field position. Last year, we could have started on our 45 every possession and it wouldn't have changed much.

Switzer didn't add to the explosiveness of the offense over the past few seasons, but he didn't remove any either.

 

Any time he was on the field receiving a kickoff or punt, he took explosiveness entirely out of the equation. Whyte was at least a threat on kickoffs and Johnson is a real weapon. When he plays on offense, that's one guy the defense really doesn't have to worry about doing big damage. At most, he'll get open on something short and maybe tack on a few yards if there are no defenders close by. He's not going to turn something short into a big play.

 

It’s pretty hard to average a difference of 20 yds or more when the average PR league wide is around 9 yds. DJ averaged 12.4yds on 20 attempts which put him first in the league with a minimum of 20 attempts. Switzer averaged 3.4,that’s a huge difference. DJ also gives you a chance of a game changing return,Switzer gives you a fair catch. He lost his PR duties for a reason. He wasn’t doing what he was brought in to do. He can whine about the fans and injuries but he’s out of excuses this year. He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt. He’s going to have to show something in PS. If we see more of the same he’s absolutely a waste of a roster spot. I also don’t believe the playbook really opens up until you reach the 35. When someone is fair catching the ball 11 times and only returns 8 attempts that’s as bad as you can get. Don’t forget the free kick he let bounce around on the field either. When your one job is PR is it too much to ask to know the rules?

 

Pre- mangled fingers....obviously....lol

 

Meh.
I never forgave him for the dropped pass on the opening drive of the afc champ. game vs NE.
To be fair, I also never forgave Haley for calling that play on 3rd and 1.
Or Ben for throwing it. or Tomlin...just because.

 

We’ve been locked up for weeks. I don’t even care about Switz and I’ve posted at least 6 times. It’s either this or clean the house like my wife keeps telling me to do.