Trying to put positive spin on FA losses

You dont know football if you don't think covering int he slot is harder than outside

 

That is not what I am facepalming about. Far from it actually.

 

There has been a lot of good short corners. There is an inch difference in the two.

 

Guys.....


The shortest Cornerback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is Darrell Green; a generational talent. Those days are not ever coming back as today's Wide Receivers are way too athletically gifted with immeasurable physical tools to match; D.K. Metcalf and Chase Claypool being the best examples. For that matter, unless a corner who is as tall as Jaire Alexander, Denzel Ward and/or Tre'Davious White possess immeasurable levels of instincts, football IQ, athleticism, play recognition, ball skills, speed, explosiveness, length, a combination of the aforementioned or all of said traits, said Corners are usually destined for either slot duty or DIME duty in the case of the Steelers. Those aforementioned Corners can play on the outside as they possess traits that allow them to transcend any height limitation they have; a phenomenon that many of us know as "exceptions to the rule."



For better reference on such outliers, see the man in my avatar for further information.




Side Note: Comparing a Slot Hybrid Defensive Back like Mike Hilton to a generational talent like Jalen Ramsey makes the rebuttal irrelevant. Jalen Ramsey is capable of performing a ridiculous feat no other Cornerback in the NFL can accomplish; playing seven different spots on the Defense while playing at an elite level (Free Safety, Strong Safety, Slot Corner, Outside Corner, Nickelback, DIME and EDGE on occasion but not in the traditional two point stance). Again, no other Cornerback can top this.

 

so then what is it?

 

he doesn’t handcuff everyone. He is the best in the nfl though. And yes the best receivers play outside and the slot. Not just one. Riggs, adams, Julio, Hopkins, Thomas, etc.. all on a good chunk of plays play in the slot due to their route running ability. Someone like metcalf cannot play in the slot and he’s bigger than everyone I just named. And in this nfl where literally everyone utilizes 3 wr sets, slot corners are becoming far more important. Not saying they are more important than outside or better but to dismiss the slot the way you did just isn’t true to the importance of the slot. It’s why some corners don’t travel on the inside. It’s not easy. Cerebrally and athletically it’s harder. You can’t put someone like a Sherman even in his prime in the slot.

 

you’re talking about exceptions but mentioning dk metcalf and chase claypool as if they are the norm. They are considered big wars. Not average size Wrs. And all I said was the size of a wr is not what makes one harder to cover than the other. He simply stated someone being bigger is what makes them harder to cover which is just false. I just noted how Ramsey with a much SMALLER receiver struggled more than with a bigger one. And Hilton proved much more than his slot corner ability. He was 2nd in tfls by a db to jamaal adams. He is a very good piece to have on a defense.

 

Speaking of the guy who is so ridiculous here is what he had to say about someone
https://steelersdepot.com/2019/11/j...r-no-disrespect-to-him-hes-not-antonio-brown/

 

He's far ahead of where Bud was as a rookie, 7th best pass rush win rate in the league last year, just behind Chase Young. If he makes a typical 2nd year jump, we're fine at that position.

 

Problem is they couldn't even afford the modest cap hit for Alualu. They're not signing anyone without restructuring/cutting more players.

 

you guys that understand free agency. Is there any hope for our salary cap in 2022 or will the steelers once again be up against the cap?

 

i absolutely didn't say the best receivers play outside. quite the contrary within the last 4 years. more and more are the better receivers heading into the slot at a rate of about 60% of the time nowdays. just a league fact. the slot corners are becoming a league wide higher priority. there is a lot thats been written about it. as i said it's not about sutton over hilton for what one can give you on the outside in versatility, its about having or losing one of the best slot corners in the league. it's not a position for every corner. it is a specialty position and we just lost a good one. the bengals are very happy with the pickup i assure you.

 

It depends on contracts (especially T.J. and Minkah) and how much salary the Steelers push from this year into the future. But 2022 is much better for the Steelers than this year. Their overall cap hit would be lower and the cap should be at least $30 million higher. They should actually be able to compete for quality FAs (but likely won't).

 

I feel that Alualu wanted to finish his career in Florida. He also is 34 and after his injury last season he wasn't the same player when he came back.

We have 2 Defensive Tackles on the roster:

Carlos Davis: 6'2" 320

Demarcus Christmas 6'2" 302

Since the DT only plays 40% of the snaps or less I feel Davis would be the starter so no need to go out and get one.

Plus we have Isaiah Buggs 6'3" 295 but is on the roster as a DE

 

That's why both are best corners are on the outside? Not disputing what you said but the slot receivers are not just covered by a slot corner.

Sutton is versatile enough to play inside or outside where Hiltons was a solid blitzer in addition to covering the slot.

Big year for Justin Layne. I have been over critical and he needs to show something this season.

Plus we have James Pierre.

 

They are likely to have over 100 million in cap space in 2022.

 

... and probably a top 10 pick.

 

He got burned by Diggs a few times but he didn't shadow Diggs like he covered probably a handful of times out the whole game. Same thing with adams. But quick shifty guys that run sharp routes give him trouble. He doesn't get abused by any means but also doesn't shutdown either. With the rams for a good chunk he was playing 1 side they run a lot of cover 3. Sometimes he did travel and others he didn't. But when he traveled and solely traveled in jax I saw him have trouble with quicker shiftier guys.

And no one is saying the best CBS don't play outside and actually the best CBS are the ones who are able to move around and shadow which will require to cover in the slot along with outside. That was the knock on Sherman. But just because the best CBS cover on the outside PRIMARILY doesn't mean it's harder to cover on the outside than inside.

 

Steelers are judged by Super Bowl wins. Steelers haven't won one in 12 years. Have been in one AFC title game, in which they got smoked, with lots of talent the last 10 years. The issue now is, the Steelers have a QB that should have retired. He will play one more year and hope for a nice send off. However, the Steelers injuries and depth have been destroyed in the first few days of the off season. Unless they get star rookies in the draft that make a difference right away, the Steelers, even if they play well, will not likely reach the Super Bowl next year. Big Ben will retire and Mike Tomlin will likely still be the coach. Two things that will only make the rebuild worse because Mike Tomlin is terrible at preparing his team on a consistent bases and he is terrible at controlling players in general.

Steelers will be Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets of the NFL. They will grab the 8th and 7th seeds and never really have a shot at winning it all. But just good enough to compete here and there.

 

I've never really seen him play outside so I can't say that. He may be better served inside as nickel backs typically do more than cover. Honey badger literally has the skills to be an outside corner but he can do so many things he's used all around the field. Not calling him honey badger but im just using an example that just because you don't see someone doing soemthing doesn't mean they can't. And it is hard. You see players also reiterating the same thing. Guys from the slot can literally go anywhere on the field and have a lot more space to operate with in comparison to outside guys. It's just the best recivers don't only line up in the slot so therefore the best corners don't only play slot. But watch gilmore when he played vs boo boo last yr. He spent a lot of time in the slot because that's where he spends alot of time. And im nto advocating that he shoudlve gotten top money or anything im jsut saying don't just dismiss him.and what he does as easy to replace. It's very hard to do what he does in the slot.

 

We all knew this was coming. Sometimes teams just need to take a step back to move five steps forward