Tag Archives: Stephon Tuitt

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Maurkice Pouncey Needs Surgery, Has Broken Ankle

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Maurkice Pouncey was injured during today’s win over the Green Bay Packers. He hurt his left ankle late in the first quarter, and ultimately was carted to the lockers after being checked by trainers on the sideline.

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Coach Tomlin gave an update on his condition in his press conference after the game, referring to his ankle as “surgical”, and saying that he didn’t have an idea of how long it will sideline him.

Tomlin said Tuitt’s ankle is much less severe. He sprained his ankle today, and Tomlin said he will likely be down for a couple of weeks.

Without knowing exactly what the actual injury is and what surgery he’ll have, it’s hard to say exactly how long he might be out. I’d expect the team will use the IR/return designation on Pouncey. I imagine Cody Wallace will fill his shoes until he is able to return.

Update- According to Ed Bouchette, Pouncey has a broken ankle bone. This could mean different things and have different implications depending the nature and location of the break. We’ll have to wait for more info before we can play doctor. Well, you know what I mean.

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Stephon Tuitt Leaves Game After Ankle Injury

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Not long after Maurkice Pouncey left the game with an apparent ankle injury, DE Stephon Tuitt has been taken to the lockers with a similar looking injury. He will not return to the game.

Tuitt was the victim of friendly fire when S Shamarko Thomas came in to make a tackle. Pouncey is receiving an MRI according to KDKA.

 

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Second Round Pick Stephon Tuitt Signs Rookie Contract

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The Steelers last remaining unsigned rookie has signed his contract this morning. Second round pick DE Stephon Tuitt is now under contract. I figured the front office was going to push to finalize this deal before everyone goes on summer vacation when mini-camp breaks.

While the specifics of the deal are not available yet, I can give you a pretty accurate projection. Here are the estimates I made a month or so ago.

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Player, Total Value, Signing Bonus, 2014 Cap Hit

Stephon Tuitt, “$4,607,953”, “$1,733,000”, “$853,250”

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Since then, all but four 2nd round picks have signed their deals. I can say that Tuitt’s signing bonus estimate might be a tad high, and his cap number may end up being a little lower than the $853K I originally predicted.

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Impactful Draft: True Need, Defensive Line

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Heading into the draft there was high speculation, from the draft-nicks to the fanfare, the Steelers would be going in two directions; Wide Receivers or Cornerback. While both were addressed through the NFL Draft, the rounds in which the “need” positions were drafted ending up being considerably off. The apparent need for the 2014 edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers was defensive line. With all the speculation of how the picks are made, did the Steelers really go best player available (BPA) or did they address the most glaring need. In the 2014 draft certain things fell correctly, as they must, for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 2014 NFL Draft brought the Steelers two defensive linemen for the first time since Casey Hampton and Rodney Bailey in 2001. The linemen selections of Stephon Tuitt and Daniel McCullersare huge, and I am not speaking of McCullers’ stature, for a team in need of defensive line help. Both of these draft picks can be contributors, albeit possibly minimal, because of their experience using the technique employed by their previous schemes.

At Tennessee in 2012, McCullers played nose tackle in their 3-4 scheme. Coaches shifted, philosophies changed and in 2013, under Jon Jancek, the Vols played a 4-3. The change in base defense was not to McCullers benefit. While a 4-3 scheme allows defensive Tackles to shoot gaps more often; McCullers numbers took a hit. Starting two seasons and playing in two schemes, he registered more tackles, sacks, and tackles for loss in the 3-4 scheme as a junior then in the 4-3 scheme as a senior. The scheme was Jon Jancek’s little coat and this fat guy didn’t fit. There is a reason why a YouTube search shows 2012 highlights at a higher volume.

Tuitt’s accomplishments have been well documented. Looking at the good, you see a defensive end that can pursue, tackle, rush, and work at his craft. The knock on Stephon is his final year at Notre Dame. When comparing the last two seasons one can see increases in assisted tackles and total tackles. The slip to the second round may have been contributed to the drop in sack production from 12 to 7.5. The most glaring difference for the Fighting Irish between 2012 and 2013 is the final record of 12-1 and 9-4, respectively. Not the singular reason but looking to compare, 6 out the 10 top sack leaders in the NFL where on teams with 10 or more wins. When your team is winning, the opposition looks to get yards in chunks via the air. The sack drop off for Tuitt, maybe loosely, can be compared to his NFL counterparts.

Tuitt has the possibility of being the largest addition to the defensive line as of late. It is not common for the Steelers to draft a player that has already been playing the defensive end position in a 3-4 scheme for his entire college career. Tuitt’s learning curve will be far less than any other defensive end drafted by the Steelers in recent history. In grandpa Lebeau’s complex scheme, Tuitt’s confusion should be as minimal as a muddled jury at the Aaron Hernandez trail and allow stiff competition at camp.

Thomas, Tuitt, McCullers, have all played in a system similar to the one currently used in Pittsburgh. Williams, Arnfelt, and Fangupo have seen the defense. With only two returning starters on the roster, there will be many new names Steelers fans will watch. With nine current defensive lineman on the roster there will surely be the odd men out but who is the new guy in?new-steelers-jersey

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Breaking Down The Rookie Salaries And Cap Implications

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Now that the draft is behind us, it’s time to take a look at the rookie salaries and there implications on the 2014 salary cap. Many teams are wasting no time getting their rookies under contract, but don’t expect the Steelers to follow suit. There is no rush to do so, and the team will have plenty of cap space to work with once LaMarr Woodley’s $8,000,000 salary comes off the books on June 1st.

The team has a little over $300K in salary cap space at the time of this writing. While they probably won’t sign any of their rookies in the immediate future, they could easily sign most of them without having much impact on the 2014 cap. Here’s a breakdown estimating their contracts, and the impact on the 2014 Steelers salary cap. Remember, these are estimates, but there isn’t too much room for change.

[table]

Player, Total Value, Signing Bonus, 2014 Cap Hit

Ryan Shazier, “$9,507,198”, “$5,234,328”, “$1,728,582”

Stephon Tuitt, “$4,607,953”, “$1,733,000”, “$853,250”

Dri Archer, “$2,906,784”, “$506,376”, “$571,594”

Martavis Bryant, “$2,723,198”, “$439,220”, “$529,805”

Shaquille Richardson, “$2,410,052”, “$190,052”, “$467,513”

Wesley Johnson, “$2,364,560”, “$144,560”, “$456,140”

Jordan Zumwalt, “$2,324,852”, “$104,852”, “$446,213”

Daniel McCullers, “$2,298,680”, “$78,680”, “$439,670”

Rob Blanchflower, “$2,279,400”, “$59,400”, “$434,850”
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As it stands right now, the team could sign all of their picks except for Shazier and Tuitt, without having too much impact on the 2014 cap space they have currently remaining. During the offseason, only the team’s top 51 cap charges count towards the salary cap. This is also known as the rule of 51. Right now, the team’s 51st highest cap hit is Derek Moye at $495,000. As you can see from the numbers above, 5 of the rookie signings wouldn’t count towards the top 51.

Expect the NFL to soon announce that the Steelers 2014 rookie pool allocation is just under $5.9 Mil, but due to displacement of the top 51, they won’t need nearly that much cap room to cover the signings. After all is said and done, the rookie pool will only have an impact of $2.2 Mil in 2014 cap space.

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Steelers Select DE Stephon Tuitt With Their 2nd Round Pick

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected former Notre Dame defensive end Stephon Tuitt with the 46th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. With the lack of depth on the defensive line, this pick was almost a no brainer. The team was said to have wasted no time submitting their pick. Many analysts projected Tuitt to go sooner, and I also thought he would have gone earlier.

Tuitt discovered that he had a Jones fracture in his left foot in February that required surgery. He should be fully recovered from that surgery now. Tuitt’s production in college was impressive for a 3-4 defensive end. He had 11 sacks in 2012, and 7.5 in 2013, including nine tackles for loss. Tuitt is 6-foot-5½, and weighed 299 at his pro day. One of his criticisms was how his performance dipped after gaining weight, but he said he was able to drop the weight after he left school. “I was able to transform my body when I had one-on-one time with professionals,” Tuitt told reporters at Notre Dame’s pro day.