Do the Steelers have enough DBs?

I have a pretty good feeling about what's behind our starting defensive backfield....
Tre Norwood looks as if he can backup both safety positions.... Mark Gilbert looks to be the real deal and Justin Layne looks to be turning the corner.....
Maulet will join the mix when he's healthy....
This secondary has untapped potential

 

Looks like Big Bird with the feathers plucked off.

 

Hey Jball.

Absolutely about Nelson and Hilton. Given the horrific record of the Tomlin era for drafting and developing Secondary personnel, this is totally mind-blowing ad unacceptable. This is a gigantic area of concern. Time and time again, under the Tomlin regime, the incompetency of either drafting wisely and/or developing Secondary talent is beyond belief. To let both of these guys go is insanity.

The proven Secondary personnel during the Tomlin era has come from other teams: Haden, Nelson, Fitzpatrick and Hilton were not Steeler draft picks, yet they are probably the best that we have had in the Tomlin era. Now, I am not placing all of the blame on Coach Tomlin for these "failures", however the bread crumb trail of his complete coaching resume shows a majority of time/experience in working with Secondary personnel.

If, Tomlin has the wrong people in place coaching and working with these guys over his tenure then that is another "blunder" per se. All of the Draft choices in this area during the Tomlin tenure cannot be flops. Can they? If this is Tomlin's "area" of so-called "expertise" (his coaching resume shows it) then he needs to step in and help out if his coaches cannot get the job done. Which is it? Poor Drafting? Poor Player Development? Both?

This has gone on for way too long. Given the failures that I mentioned, it was imperative that we kept Nelson and Hilton; especially with the extra Cap Space that we have. Our Secondary was one of the best in the league last season but who was the weak link? Edmunds, another Tomlin era draftee. Unacceptable!

Take care.



STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

Those were salary cap decisions letting Hilton, and Nelson go. They had Nelson and Hilton the last two seasons, and didn't win anything.

 

No we don't , I think this Team is in trouble ..

 

That is one of the worst arguments people keep interjecting into discussions around here. By your logic, Trent Dilfer was great because he started for a team that won a Super Bowl and Dan Marino wasn't because he never won one.

This team would have been better off with one or both of those guys. That is inarguable among the sane. Not asking Nelson to take a pay cut, assuming he's telling the truth, was absolutely idiotic given the questionable options in the secondary.

 

If Diggs is healthy he may set a NFL all time record ,we have no one who can man up on him and they will know to put him on Edmunds side or run his routes into his zone from the slot to keep Haden off of him.. He is my key starter in DFS ..lol ..I hate to go against my Team , but my logic can't be denied..

 

Hello my friend, hope you see this and remember to make a prediction in the Steeler Prediction Poll. I like to have the previous winners post. I got 2 of them but need only you.

 

The Steelers weren't going to pay Hilton 6 million a year, and the reduced salary cap sealed Nelson's fate, their plan was to re-sign Sutton and let him play outside CB.

 

We can scheme Diggs out of some of the Game if Haden is out there ,and Minkah. Remember Haden didn't play against Buffalo last time. Though 2 do this will leave Beasley and other 2 be covered.

 

Hey steelersrule6.

News Flash! Only one team wins it all every season. You have to ask yourself the bottom line question:

"Is our Secondary better without Nelson and Hilton?"

The answer is Definitely: "No".

Yes, admittedly, at roster and salary decision-making time during this past offseason, I do not think that we were initially in a position to afford either one. However, after we freed up some money, I believe, that Nelson was still available but he chose to go to the Eagles anyway.

So, again, only one team can win it all. Your quote that we "didn't win anything" is totally unfair and "Myopic". We did win 12 games and the division with THIS SECONDARY. All of that in part was BECAUSE we had a strong Secondary which is now not as good as it was last season. The reason that we fell short last season was not because of the Secondary. They held up their end of the bargain. It was our pathetic rushing attack (that is unheard of in Steelers' talk ) that finished Dead Last in the league which led to our demise.

With your rational of thinking why don't we get rid of everyone from last season's team because we (your quote): "....didn't win anything."

In addition, I believe that you are taking offense to this post, in part, because your man Tomlin has proven to be totally ineffective (short of incompetent) when it comes to any aspect of improving the Pittsburgh Steelers' Secondary during his time here. Hey, I am a Tomlin fan also. The reason being is he is the Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have upheld this mantra and have been on the record here stating this time and time again: For me, if you wear the Black and Gold, then I am down with you. Tomlin is our Coach. I am pulling for the Pittsburgh Steelers, thus I am pulling for Tomlin.

Again though, the facts are what they are. The Secondary is where most of Tomlin's Coaching Experience has taken place. However, it has and continues to be, the weakest aspect of our Defense ever since he became Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Again, I am not blaming him for all of our Secondary short-comings but as he and all other leaders often state: "It all starts with me". This includes EVERY aspect of the team: Offense, Defense and Special Teams.

Just face it, the Secondary, under the Tomlin Regime, has been mediocre at best.

It is not just me that has taken note of this issue. Read the article below.

Steelers Struggle



STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

I get that. A better plan would have been to at least try to get Nelson to take a pay cut. He ended up signing for $2.5 million, a number they can absolutely afford.

 

Forget Beasley. One of the ‘other 2’ is Gabriel Davis, he’s their 2nd best receiver. Take out Diggs, Allen will target him all day long.

 

Same with Ben, Cam, TJ, Minkah, Bush, Haden, JuJu, DJ, etc.

 

The Bills are going to run a lot of 4 by 1 IMO with double slots in tighter .IMO those 2 guys will be Diggs and Sanders ..Sanders knows this Defense and it's weakest spots and Diggs is a monster ..Our style of D will not allow Haden to press or man cover either of them from the inside I think both will run routes to the middle and then flood the Edmunds half ..If we can't get pressure early I think both have very huge games like 300 plus between the 2 .. They are my week 1 locks in DFS and I hope Ben and JuJu can keep pace ..

By 4 by 1 I mean 1 RB and both outside WR'S playing wider and Diggs and Sanders inside of them as double slots playing tighter stretching our already poor DB'S and forcing Edmunds to read and react quick and often...

 

Hey Jball.

The loss of these two guys is huge. I have been ranting on lately about our pathetic drafting record of Secondary Personnel over the Tomlin Era. Losing these two guys just makes matters that much worse. For whatever reason this organization just seems incapable of “home-growing” Secondary talent. I am making a pitch for Bryce Callahan in another thread. If interested, go to the link below.

Bryce Callahan: Cornerback | TheSteelersFans



STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

oh my.

 

what a fine draft class that was....

 

And all those guys are better players than Hilton, and Nelson .

 

Unless Nelson is a complete cancer (thus far I'm not aware of that being the case), releasing him was very strange. They had him under contract for 2021 so even if it was a money dispute (which also doesn't seem to be the case), there was no real reason to let him go.