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The DB situation for 2021

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Chinchilla, Jul 26, 2021.

  1. Chinchilla

    Chinchilla Well-Known Member

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    Curious how does everyone feel about the back 4.

    Too early to tell by the draft prospects but I am a little concerned about depth.

    I wonder if they ever toyed with the idea of Joe Haden playing safety in his later years.

    So can anyone name the starters and backups?

    I guess losing Nelson concerns me and I am trying to look at who covers who against the Bills.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    I think the back four is relatively set but the nickel job is up for grabs

    RCB. Sutton
    SS. Edmunds
    FS. Minkah
    LCB. Haden
    NICKEL. Brooks/Maulet/A.N. Other?

    Backup CB’s are Pierre and Layne with one of them coming in for the dime package, probably Pierre, Sutton moves to the slot for that

    Backup safeties are Norwood, Brooks, Allen (I know he is listed as a LB now)

    I may be forgetting somebody. Backup FS looks like a major hole in the roster. If anything happens to Minkah the defence doesn’t really have anybody to step in to his role and it could be a disaster, that’s why so many fans wanted Malik Hooker.

    Id be relatively happy with the rest of the group assuming the front seven can continue to be one of the better units in the league and make the secondary job a bit easier

    They have about $12m in cap space now, they’ll want to keep $5m for in-season emergencies so they effectively have about $7m to spend. I think they’ll wait for camp cut downs and see if a decent veteran safety falls to them, like Haden did in 2017

    I do think Haden could fill in at safety if Minkah goes down, with Pierre sliding in to his CB role, but it’d be far from ideal
     
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  3. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    if minka went down they may move sutton back there and go with pierre at corner. maulet as you said could move back there as well. ideal? no but just like any other team that loses a starter, it will be weaker. why weaken two spots moving haden there? :cool:
     
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  4. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    Fair point. Yes any team that loses a starter is usually going to be weaker but the gap from Minkah to next man up is chasmic. They really could do with an experienced backup FS
     
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  5. SteelerGlenn

    SteelerGlenn

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    I really think we’re going to be surprisingly good at CB.
    I feel really confident in our two starting safeties, but the lack of depth at the position could be an issue.
     
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  6. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    Depth is a concern, as is the nickel. However, we do have a bona fide All Pro at FS, a wily vet at one corner spot, and a solid player at the SS spot. Not to mention the league’s best pass rush that will make all of their jobs less difficult. I have also seen enough of Sutton to have confidence in him at the other outside position.
     
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  7. Jujubean

    Jujubean Well-Known Member

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    Haden is old and already showed signs of slowing down last year. He could fall off a cliff this year. I like Sutton but he has to prove himself as an every down NFL Corner. Edmunds showed signs of improvement last year until the end of the year when he regressed back to bust territory. Lots of ??? marks in the secondary
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  8. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    maulet is experienced. so is sutton at the position. not full time but he has played and practiced there. :cool:
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  9. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    As always and for most teams, NO INJURIES!! I think we have a decent situation as long as health stays on our side.
     
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  10. Seven4Steel

    Seven4Steel Well-Known Member

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    I don't know if I'd go as far as "surprisingly good" but you could be right. I do, however, feel we'll be better. I think/hope we're going to be able to replace Hilton's blitzing and not suffer a drop in coverage ability. And I think we're getting personnel in place that is better suited to our defensive scheme. But again, I hope you're right and we're all pleasantly surprised by the db production this season.

    Any improvement is going to make our pass rush even that much more destructive.
     
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  11. S.T.D

    S.T.D Well-Known Member

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    I hope most that I read posted below are correct, but.....IMO this is our weakest link.
    Some may say the O line, but some of the O line were so bad at the end that any, or most of a change will be, or should be welcome.
    The Secondary not so. We lost some ...while not pro bowl, or HOF talents, but some pretty good players there.
     
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  12. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    We kept the probowl - hof talent...:hehehe:
     
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  13. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    Well if you watched Nelson get burned by Diggs last season, you wouldn't want him covering against the Bills.
     
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  14. Chinchilla

    Chinchilla Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for taking the time all. I trust your opinion more than social media or writers.

    The world witnessed that Tampa Bay cut the head and made that offense sputter.

    The acknowledgement that the weak link (Oline) must be attacked was great strategy but at the same time...the coverage was pretty damn good too from the LBs to the DBs when watching the entire field angles that TV doesnt show in realtime.
     
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  15. Wardismvp

    Wardismvp Well-Known Member

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    I am interested in seeing some of UDFA's and late round choices they brought in.
    Some people's time is running out. Tre Norwood, Lamont Wade, Mark Gilbert
     
  16. Brice

    Brice Well-Known Member

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    Funny, I just watched a special where Charlie Batch predicted his camp phenom for this year was going to be CB Justin Layne!!!

    What would Layne have to do this training camp to get back in the mix?
     
  17. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    be consistent. he's had some good coverage and some bad. similar to edmunds. of course they all have at times including nelson. show me a corner or safety that has 100% coverage grades.

    the slot will be the difference maker on the field. teams will try to create mismatches there as do we. it's a role that not every corner can play. it's getting more important though. slot corners pay scale has been rising for several years now for a reason. :cool:
     
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  18. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    He just has to get (a lot) better between the ears. Physically, he has all of the tools that you look for in an outside corner.
     
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  19. Maddog78

    Maddog78 Well-Known Member

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    Not suck? Batch is probably one of the most uneducated Steeler homers on the planet. Every take he has on the team is patently awful.
     
  20. Brice

    Brice Well-Known Member

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    How can Batch still have a job if he is this clueless about players on the team?

    I went back and rewatched this episode as I remember Batch's comments made no since to me. He described Justin as a 5th round draft pick that needed to make a jump his second year? (20:00)(125) Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp 2021 All-Access (Ep. 2) - YouTube
    Layne is a 3rd round draft pick entering his 3rd year. His exact quote to end his comments is that "If Justin can make that jump from year 1 to year 2 the Steelers will have a steal with the 5th round pick from last year" If you were wondering the Steelers did not even have a 5th round pick last year.

    So I thought I was watching last year's show, but here is everyone's pick.
    upload_2021-7-27_16-13-12.png
     
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  21. CK 13

    CK 13 Well-Known Member

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    He is a major liability. Cut the loss,

    Will Edmonds rise above the line after being dissed? I feel we will see most of the same with minimal improvement.

    Sutton will take another step up. I also see Pierre above the line.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  22. MeanJoeBlue

    MeanJoeBlue Well-Known Member

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    Dave Bryan wrote about the cap situation on the 26th.
    They effectively have very little.

    "As the chart shows below, all but roughly $1.35 million of the Steelers' presumed $11,712,604 cap space that they currently have as of Monday morning is already all spoken for."

    (Dave points out that Tuitt and Boswell can have restructured contracts to get $5M more, but restructuring has its own problems.)
     
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  23. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    See if Layne improves in year 3, if not then he's probably another bust.
     
  24. SteelersFanIrl

    SteelersFanIrl Well-Known Member

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    Yes CB is a tough spot and players develop at different rates. Not hopeful in Laynes case but you never know. They don’t really have the depth to cut him anyway, and he does play ST
     
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  25. Brice

    Brice Well-Known Member

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    How Does Charlie know these things?

    Funny I blasted him for his Layne comments because all his facts about him being in his second season and a 5th round draft pick were dead wrong, but it beginning to sound like Layne may be picking up some steam in becoming a capable CB in the NFL.

    Forced fumble in the Cowboys game, followed by an Int in the Philadelphia game. And the reports about his training camp improvements..... Could Layne finally be making his move?

    Even a broke clock is right twice a day!
    [​IMG]
     
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