SB Nation User Blog: BadMaafala

Steelers Links

BadMaafala — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:19:16 -0000

Here's a couple of interesting links I found around the internet:

USA today is putting together some "organizational reports" of the teams, and I thought the one on the Steelers was pretty well-informed. There's not too much new info, but it's also not the over-generalized 1 paragraph summary of all the stereotypes about the Steelers (e.g. "This storied franchise blah blah Tomlin's Cover-2 scheme blah blah run the ball against 9 man fronts blah blah hole at RG without Faneca blah blah tall wide receiver") . In the "new info" category, there's Tomlin saying, "we've got the makings of a rock-solid offensive line."

The general link to all the teams is here. The quality of the Steelers article makes me think that some of the others might be worth a read as well. Also, they published "team reports" (not sure what the difference is), which are just more articles that tell you what you already know to get you pumped up about training camp.

Lastly, we have a humor column. Or maybe a homer column. Anyway, it's a column that says FWP is the #4 RB in the league, ahead of Stephen Jackson, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai, and MB3 (who's ranked at 15 for some reason). We can argue about some of those names, but we should be able to agree that Parker is not the complete player Jackson is. This one's for kwoog: Jamal Lewis is ranked #21. See, irrefutable evidence that Parker is waaaaay better. Also, LenDale "Fats" White is ranked #24 despite averaging 3.7 yards and having 5 fumbles last year. I mean, 24 is 24, but Chester Taylor? Selvin Young? Justin Fargas? Hell, Ron Dayne had a better year. It's like they got the rushing totals for the year and moved down a few players they didn't like.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

How bright is the future?

BadMaafala — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:02:31 -0000

I'm new to this site (more of a Steelers fan), but I grew up watching the Pirates. I've been reading the site for a few weeks, and I've seen a number of people saying something like "we still need more pieces", and questioning whether the Pirates could contend with their roster. I confess I'm not a baseball expert and most of my knowledge of the Pirates comes from stats, but when I look at this roster, I see a ridiculously young team with a bunch of ~.300 hitters and a number of very young pitchers who have at least shown that they are capable of a 3.5 to 4.0 ERA. Obviously Gorzelanny and Snell are crapping their pants this year, but they have 5 SP's and a closer under the age of 27. Is it possible that Snell and Gorzo return to form? I don't know enough about how baseball players develop, but is it unreasonable to expect that in a few years the Pirates will have a strong rotation to go with their solid lineup?

I could understand trading Marte, Nady, and maybe even Bay while their stocks are up, but do the Pirates need more than a little more depth?

I stumbled across this highlight video of Dennis Dixon on YouTube, and I was pretty impressed. I...

BadMaafala — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:12:52 -0000

I stumbled across this highlight video of Dennis Dixon on YouTube, and I was pretty impressed. It's a nice long video, so it's not just his top 5 plays or anything. If you watch Dixon, he's not primarily making plays with his feet and arm; he's executing the offense, and for the most part he's working within the game plan to find open receivers and make sound decisions. Most of the plays are remarkably un-impressive (other than in their result), much like watching Tom Brady drive up and down the field, taking what the defense gives and throwing only to open receivers. His other years in school were characterized by him making the plays himself, which led to a lot of inconsistency, but this video shows that he has matured a lot as a QB. At the very least, watching it made me think he could be a viable backup.

Steroids Dealer Found Dead

BadMaafala — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:38:46 -0000

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that David Jacobs, the steroids dealer who recently spilled his guts to the NFL, was found dead from gunshot wounds in his home. Police aren't saying whether it was a double homicide or a murder-suicide. If it is the former, this will be a pretty big (and bad) story for the NFL. It looks like Jacobs had a lot of dirt on a lot of people, as he ran one of the the largest steroid rings in the country, and he didn't seem to have a problem with telling people what he knew. He even suggested he was going to write a book about it. I can imagine that more than a few people weren't excited about he new propensity for honesty.

This is mostly speculation at this point, but it will be a story to watch.

Capizzi a second string LT?

BadMaafala — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:08:56 -0000

Jim Wexell's lastest article talks about the progress of Jason Capizzi, the UDFA OT a number of us were watching from last year, an article perhaps partially inspired by a question in Blitz's recent interview with Wexell. It talks about last year for him, and how we stole him from the Chiefs at the 11th hour. According to the article, Capizzi has mostly recovered from his stress fracture, and is now practicing at LT with the second team. If you had asked me yesterday where he'd be on the LT depth chart, I'd have guessed 4th or 5th, behind Smith, Starks, Essex, and possibly Hills. I think Smith is a new father, so it's possible that he's not practicing this week, who knows what Starks is up to, and Hills may still be recovering from his injury, but regardless, Capizzi playing with the second team means something, since Smith, Essex and Starks have all be getting positive reviews at LT recently. Is it possible he could make the team over Essex and/or Hills? I don't think he'll be around for long if we release him again this year.

That didn't take long

BadMaafala — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:19:44 -0000

The Dallas ~~Yankees~~ Cowboys are at it already, signing 2 of their players to mega contracts with the money freed by the impending lack of a CBA. If this is a sign of things to come, it doesn't bode well for the competitive balance of the NFL. It looks like some ~~jerks~~ people are banking on there not being a salary cap in the future, so they will probably be exerting influence and campaigning to see that it is so. Maybe the NFL can work something out to avoid going the way of the MLB, but I can't see anything good coming from this. We may have to live through another decade of dominance from ~~the most obnoxious team in NFL history~~ America's team just based on wallet size.

Bruce Davis linked to the Zodiac Killings?

BadMaafala — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:28:38 -0000

Bruce Davis linked to the Zodiac Killings?

The link suggests it wasn't him, but who knows? Maybe some opposing QB's will be getting mysterious letters in the mail in the next few years...

Steelers Draft in Review: Final Thoughts

BadMaafala — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:53:40 -0000

Rather than drawing this out any more than I have to, I'll be brief with the last two picks and give a few final thoughts on the draft.

Mike Humpal, ILB, 6'3 244

Strengths/Weaknesses: Humpal seems to be a strong run stuffing type of LB with limited speed. He knows how to plug rushing lanes, take on blocks, and make tackles. He may struggle in man-to-man coverage, but he isn't a huge liability in short zone coverage. He seems to be a tough, smart, hard working guy who is willing to play special teams.

Analysis: I was hoping the Steelers would make a pick like this. Timmons and Foote may be undersized for the SILB position, but Humpal could give us a solid run stuffer if Farrior leaves or gets injured. We don't have any other players in this mold right now, so he has a good chance of making the team as a backup and special teams guy. As a bonus, his name gives us a chance to come up with some creative expressions (e.g. "Joshua Cribbs, you've just been Hump'd!!").

Ryan Mundy, S, 6'1 215

Strengths/Weaknesses: Mundy is a big, strong safety with good hands and ball skills. He is a good run defender and tackler, but he doesn't have great range or speed. He is a hard worker, but according to NFL's draft site, he doesn't get excited about special teams, which is a concern. He transferred to WVU after being at UM for 4 years, and while there doesn't seem to be anything wrong it, it does seem a bit strange.

Analysis: Ryan Clark seems to be fine, but having an extra safety can't hurt since our two starters have some issues with injuries. While Mundy may get cut if he doesn't do well on special teams, he looks like a solid backup at SS with enough upside to grow into a possible starter. If he shows potential, he could push Carter for a roster spot.

Summary and Final Thoughts:

The biggest thing I noticed as I was looking at scouting reports of the Steelers draftees was that in almost every case, the players we drafted are hard workers with a good attitude and were productive in college. If we look at a lot of the players we passed on (Balmer, Avril, and Moore come to mind), we see great athletes who either don't seem committed to hard work or don't translate into productive football players. Time will tell, but I think this draft was outstanding both in the value we got and in the type of players we drafted. We didn't fill every need, but we did fix serious depth issues at SILB, OLB, and RB. In a year or two, the skill players in this offense could be as good as anyone in the league, and if the OL (and Arians) can even be average, it's reasonable to think that we could have one of the best offenses in the league while maintaining a very good defense.

My only concern with how this draft worked out is that next year, we may be in a position of even greater need on OL and DL and even more pressured to pick for need over value. If that is the case, we may see a couple of trades or reaches that at some level are the result of this draft. If that's the only thing we're compaining about though, it's hard not to call this a highly successful draft.

Heath Benedict Article

BadMaafala — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:14:20 -0000

Heath Benedict Article

I know some of us were keeping tabs on Benedict as a good draft prospect, and I was pretty shocked by his sudden and inexplicable death. Part of me wondered if there were some drugs/steroids involved, but it looks like that was not the case. ESPN just did an article on him, so I thought I'd link it here. While it's a little kitschy, it doesn't go overboard, and I feel like they got a real feel for him and his family.

Steelers Draft in Review: Round 5

BadMaafala — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:02:19 -0000

It's easy to go over the top with optimism or pessimism about any draft, but it's rarely as good or as bad as we think it could be. I’m going to try to give a tempered analysis of the players we drafted, hopefully helping us understand why we made some picks and keeping our expectations at a rational level.

Round Five: Dennis Dixon 6’4, 205

Strengths: Dixon is a dual threat athlete who led his team to an 8-1 record before being injured, after which the team went 1-3. He was having an outstanding senior season, with 2700 total yards, completing 67.7% of his passes, and having a 20-4 TD to INT ratio. He has good height for an NFL QB, although he may need to add a few pounds. He is quick and has a good second gear if he gets out in the open. He can escape pressure and throw well on the move, but he also has developed patience and can stay in the pocket to find the open receiver. He has good arm strength and when he uses proper technique, he can be very accurate.

Weaknesses: Dixon does not have great footwork, and his delivery is inconsistent, which can affect his accuracy at times, although he improved some his senior year. Also, before his senior year he was antsy in the pocket and made a lot of bad decisions trying to make plays. He had ACL surgery in December, and it is unclear how that may affect his athleticism in the future. He is a minor league player for the Braves, so there is no guarantee that he will play in the NFL at all.

Analysis: While Dixon could potentially play WR, as far as I can tell he was drafted as a QB to eventually replace Batch. If we keep him strictly at QB, he’ll have a better chance of developing into a solid backup or trading bait in a couple years. Honestly, Batch has to be the perfect backup so I’m surprised they bothered to draft Dixon, considering he’ll either not make the team or want to start in a few years. We have a surplus of WR’s now, so I can’t see him having much value there, but it’s possible he could see some action in trick play situations. For now, look for us to stash him on the PUP/IR for a year and let him compete for the #2 spot next year .

Passed on: OL’s Roy Schuening, Carl Nicks, FB Owen Schmitt, LB Jonathan Goff, DT’s Nick Hayden, Ahtyba Rubin

This is the pick I simply don’t understand, based on our other options. There were good options for depth at DL and OL here, but they passed on them for a high risk #3 QB or #6 WR. Regardless of how good Dixon could be, we have an overabundance of skill position players right now and no depth or youth on the defensive line. I am struggling to understand how Dixon could be a significant asset to our offense at any point in his career, while Hayden or Rubin could both be half decent part-time run stuffers with the potential to start at DE or NT at some point in the future. There's no guarantee either DT would have made the team, but the more young bodies we bring in, the better chance we have of finding someone who can stick, and we just don't have that many young bodies right now.