Steelers release DeCastro

Said the same thing during the draft. This team is a shadow of the 12-4 team from last year.

 

A new group a new Attitude.. Thanks to DD for his above the line play when healthy it's hard to get movement with lower body injuries ..The good thing is OL play is not rocket science so the learning curve is not that steep..Attitude and Team work will take them a long way as run blockers ,I am more concerned with the pass blocking picking up stunts and blitzes but if they can establish the run and use more PA and pass from running capable sets I think it can work..

IMO they should shelf the gun as much as possible ,Ben may not like it , but he probably likes getting hammered a lot less I hope..If we see a lot of gun we will see a lot of QB'S IMO.. So if the Gun is still prominent we best keep all 4 QB'S on the 53 and get another 1 for the practice squad and work every practice with a 2 starting QB approach also I hope we don't use our best RB as the main blitz pick up guy use a TE or another RB don't get him beat up trying to protect Ben ...

 

Depending on the angle of the sun, the shadow can be greater.

Just saying.

 

This move caught me off guard for sure. I don't think he will be without a team very long.

 

Everyone is freaking out like DD's release was some clear indication that the team is rotting at the core or that Tomlin has lost his players trust or Decastro wanted more money. The reality the next day is that it's none of those reasons but simply a nagging injury that will require another procedure and amount of time to recover heading into the the start of the season and he is mulling over retirement. IMHO if you are thinking about it then you have already decided and are just waiting until there is a more definite sign. Call it a career David and get healthy.

 

Fans: This O-Line is terrible!

Steelers: *Replaces O-Line*

Fans: They've lost too much O-Line!

Did y'all think we were going to scrap the entire offensive line and fill it with great players in the same offseason? If we enter next offseason thinking we have three solid linemen, that's an absolute win.

 

I knew something wasn't right, but didn't know this was how it was going to play out. Damn, what a kick to the groin this is. As uncertain as the OL was going be next year, this doesn't make me feel as though all the talk about improving this or that is going to happen. However, taking a step back and looking at the total picture, there are a couple of ways to mentally process this:
1. The OL was hard to be worse than last year and losing them all isn't such a bad thing with younger players coming in
2. The OL was last in running so the only way to go is up and why not with a new crew and build for the future.
3. With new coaching on O and the OL, maybe it was best to get new blood in the mix since it is easier to change culture with new players than to
break bad habits with old ones.
4. Maybe this will be a remarkable resurgence with the offense and things start to click and gel, or
5. Ben is a dead man.

 

Hats off to Decastro for knowing when to step away.

Watching Ramon Foster that last year was hurtful.

 

DD did not voluntarily step away. He was released.

 

haha, i dont know why, but this was funny.

 

I'm excited, yes excited...We were last, LAST in rushing last year...Like Steel Hog says, there is nowhere to go but up...Our OL for the last 2-3 years has been like All star voting..The names look good, but the performance doesn't match the name on the back...

Foster, Pouncey, DD,Al have been BAD...And I for one am NOT that scared to start anew... I'm not gonna start another " pile on Tomlin thread " but... Foster should have been released the last TWO years he was here, terrible! Same with Pouncey, ranked dead last at his position his last TWO years, should have been cut and sure as hell not starting...DD, terrible the last TWO years! Big AL, slightly better, but bad!

Some of this has to lay at Sarrets feet, he's gone! Some at Tomlins feet ( like everything else, never his fault, and will never be gone )

New OL Coach...Seems like new attitude, Klemm talks like he has a chip on his shoulder, and wants to bring a new attitude and nastiness back, Amen, We need it bad!

Great players and appreciative of what they've done, but bye...Fresh start, new players, Coach, philosophy...LETS GO!

 

Do you honestly think he didn't discuss the options with the team and decided what was best for himself and the team? Article on NFL.COM right now saying he has no problem hanging it up if this third surgery doesn't fix the problem.

 

Doesn't the team have to release him, so he can keep his money?

If he would quit/retire he would have had to payback his bonus money.

 

I sure hope this team is a shadow of the sorry excuse for a team I saw down the stretch last year. That offensive line needed to be blown up like this!

 

Just to pick a nit, not necessarily. We could be last again or second to last or whatever, but be further behind the rest of the league. Or we could be only marginally better running the ball and be a lot worse in pass protection. Or we could get flagged every other play. You get the point. We definitely could get worse.

Not that I'm expecting that in all honesty, but just saying. My hunch is we'll remain near the bottom.

 

Nice proverb. This team is worse than last year, maybe markedly. I think you knew what I meant.

 

Several years ago the Steelers had a very good Oline. The flip side of getting everyone good simultaneously is that they all wear out simultaneously a few seasons later. That is what we are seeing. I would not expect a lot this year, it is one thing to have all the pieces at hand (which they don’t) and it is quite another to get them to all play as one entity. That takes half a season at least.

 

Watching AL and Pouncey last year was just as painful....kind of like watching Troy the last season he played. Amazing how quickly age can come on.

 

Totally agree with this.

Change isn't always a bad thing, but when it's necessary, you pull the trigger and roll with it (unless it's Tomlin, obviously). This new group might not have any more success than the previous group, but there's no reason whatsoever to not be encouraged by the prospect of changing the clusterfuk OL from the past couple seasons.

If this OL can learn as a group to block for Najee, and be at least average doing it, we're going to be happy with the success of the running game this season.

 

They were the worst line in the league after being one of the best. Decline was happening. Why should we have kept them? okrafor was drafted as a future replacement. Now he is. Banner was kept as a future replacement. Now he is. Dotson the same. Now he is. Two new draft picks added. Several players were added with some experience to be available if needed. Two new o-line coaches were added. Let's first see them on the field before we already have them failing.

 

Holy crap this video is scary... he looks terrible.

 

He was dealing with a groin injury last season.

 

If he gets another ankle surgery he might be without a team for a long time, or retire.

 

17, 9, and 1.
While the validity of PFF can be debated still in past 3 years Oline has been rated well, by a majority.

I agree it fell off last year but I think the way in which they were blocking was for a totally different scheme.

We needed change I just don't think it was as bad as you're suggesting.

 

Yes and no. If a player quits/retires the team can go after a prorated portion of certain funds, but they rarely do. When Andrew Luck quit Indy could have went after millions, but decided not to. In Castro's case, this being the last year of his contract the money really would not have been that much. The class in which he played I doubt the Art would even think about doing it.