Mike Mayock believed that Allen Bailey would go early in the third round.  Would he not be worth a 63?  Personally, I believe he would be worth it at 31.  He has much more ability than Jared Odrick did last year (who was picked at 28).  It is said that he has even played outside linebacker in college, and we can always use more of those (snicker, snort).  Anyone else agree?  Sleeper value?  Or bust?

Poll follows!

If you look around the web in a Steeler-focused way, you will find that many 53 Man Roster posts have sprung up since the draft.  My focus in those posts has been on the offensive line, specifically those in the also-ran category.

Mostly, Essex is regarded as a safe bet, a good man to have around.  Urbik is named in most because he is still being tested.  Foster is on most, because he came in undrafted last year and impressed coaches enough to actually had a couple starts when Starks went down.
The question marks seem to pop up concerning Legursky, Jonathan Scott, and Chris Scott.

Legursky is on shaky ground, I suppose, because we have a new stud center.  Also because Essex got the start ahead of him at RG last year.

Jonathan Scott is an uncertainty because he has washed out of two programs ahead of us.  I do like his experience (many starts) and measurables though.  I'm just not certain about his attitude toward the game. 

Lastly we have Chris Scott.  Chris is big and slow, and not enormously powerful.  However I have been a homer in his camp since the draft.  He has a lot of experience at LT in the SEC and received an "SEC Offensive lineman of the week" award while doing it.  And he comes from the same Tennessee program as Foster, who has impressed our coaches.  (Since Foster, it seems that our coaching staff views Tennessee offensive linemen as underrated)  At the Tennessee Pro Day, we had multiple coaches there including our offensive line coach. 

I think that the edge goes to Chris Scott due to his attitude, experience, and predigreed college program.  What do you think?

O.k., a little more information.  I'm polling for the most likely late round or UDFA defensive back who will become the next Chidi Iwuoma, or something like that.   A defensive back who can get a little work in dime packages, but who is really good on the special teams.  Well, not just good, but the special infusion of talent we have been looking for to terrorize returners.  I am limiting the candidates to those who are generally expected to fall to the fifth round or later.  In particular, I'm interesting in those who are not likely to be picked before our compensatory picks in that round, if such knowledge were available.  Also you will note that my list is pretty much exclusive of even average height. I aimed for shorties in honor of Mr Iwuoma, suspecting that the fast and short guys have some sort of advantage in this category.  Or maybe they're just easier to pick up as UDFAs.  Maybe I'm wrong.  But Stever Tasker does come to mind....

Anyway, that's it.  Speak up quickly if you want someone else thrown in.    Also feel free to discuss whether we already have such a player.  As if you wouldn't feel free anyway....

Just an odd little poll.  I wanted to introduce something different from the same old draft talk. 
I'm listing some odd ducks, at least as far as the F.O. is concerned.  Players who do not fit our system.  Or could they?  Could one of these players find a home with the Steelers despite being a perceived mismatch for us?  Pick the one who is most likely to be selected.  Players represent various draft values, not just the first round...

By way of example:  I think Brian Price is just the bomb...for some other team.  Those in the know understand that both he and his arms are too short to play 3-4 DE.  He cannot hope to wall off the edge as Aaron Smith can.  He certainly cannot play NT.  He is a 4-3 undertackle only.  But I still think he is awesome.  It would be wonderful to have him on the field against a long third down.  Having said that, there's no way we would draft him.  Besides this, his value seems to fall pretty neatly in the very middle between our first two picks.  But he's awesome!  So we're picking him!  I will it to be so!

So, that's mine.  Who is yours?

Here's the list with short descriptions.  A poll follows!

Which of these might we pick and what would be the reasoning?


Brian Price:  4-3 undertackle.  Too short with too short arms to be a 3-4 DE end.

Tim Tebow QB:  We won't run the wildcat.  Ever.

Aaron Hernandez TE: Non-blocking, receiving tight end.  Umm.

Derrick Morgan DE:  4-3 DE only.  Not a rush linebacker.  But solid at what he does....which is not what we do...

Jon Asamoah G:  Lightweight, short-armed (breakable?) pulling guard.

Charles Brown OT: Fast, lightweight (breakable?) zone-blocking tackle

Brandon LaFell WR:  Too-slow-for-the-NFL" receiver with lots of college production

Micah Johnson ILB:  Awesome but s-l-o-w inside linebacker.

Taylor Mays S:  Fastest 230 pound safety you'll ever see.  Hips of stone?  Might have to move to linebacker?  Would have to carry water for Troy in our system.

Brandon Ghee CB:  Fine physical cornerback.  Who can't catch a cold.  Umm.

Matt Tennant C:  Lightweight, but tall center.  Has short arms.  Umm.

The first round picks have been analyzed to death.  Personally, I won't get too surprised by our pick unless we manage to get Eric Berry.  So now on to other business. Who do you like in the second round, assuming that we pick at 52?  I tried to pull together a list of likely candidates without being too optimistic or reaching too much.  I  consulted several mocks on the web, including big_jay's.  I kept it to ten players.  Jump.

Continue reading this post »

Here's my scenario:  Just suppose that no team wants a deal which would allow us to trade up or down in the first round.  Therefore we're stuck at 18.  Also suppose that all of the Steeler fan favorites are already gone.  Berry, Haden, McClain, Thomas, Spiller, Iupati, Dan Williams.  All gone.  Who would you pick from the following leftovers? I left off several DE/OLBs and a notable tight end that I supposed it would be folly to include.  I also assumed that Trent Williams would be gone.  Are these good assumptions?

I dunno.... I liked this link and thought others might also.  It is a year old and details Scott's departure from Detroit and arrival in Buffalo. It also addresses J.S.'s personality and work ethic a bit...

http://buf.scout.com/2/867293.html

On another note, does it seem odd that Scott started eight games last season (including 6 at left tackle) and yet went untendered?  How does that happen?   The Bills seemingly replaced Scott (who is 27) with a 34 year old....

So a leftover from the NFC North comes indirectly to Pittsburgh.  With the FO's history of such acquisitions in mind, we have reason to hope that he will be an awesome addition....

And why not?  McClain will be expensive to get.  Many here have advocated for trading down in the first or up in the second to make values line up for other needs.  Tomlin met with Weatherspoon on Friday night and mentioned that he (S.W.) could fit in at MLB.  In response to that suggestion, Weatherspoon said "I am all about just being a team guy and taking care of business".  So how about it?  Would a lesser mortal like Weatherspoon be a sufficient substitute for McClain while still allowing us to obtain a nice red chipper in the second round?

With a huge game in progress between Alabama and Florida, I wanted to do a poll on draft prospects from just Alabama.  However, players from both teams keep popping up on sites with Steeler interest.  So this is just a little poll about prospective Steelers playing for these two teams.  Who are you watching this afternoon with the most interest?  I had purposed to leave Tim Tebow out of the poll.  But what the heck... My personal pick is  Mike Pouncey because he has played both offensive and defensive lines---and because we haven't heard too much about him, as we have about the marquee players.  Talk about "positional flexibility".

Is anyone else a little miffed that this movie is timed to premier a week ahead of our road game to Baltimore?  It just seems odd.  Will the Ratbirds gain an unfair advantage?  Has anything like this happened before?  Should the City of Pittsburgh boycott the movie?  Or is it totally irrelevant?  We have a guy like that on our team, don't we?  William Gay, or someone.  Anyway, that should be enough questions.  So how about some answers... 

I was paging through some google searches, not paying much attention, when I read that the Steelers had lined up in this formation for a few plays this season.  I didn't think much about it.  Later, I read that Kansas City used it a little last year.  Being intrigued,  I wanted to find the site again, but I could not,  But I did snoop around.  For what little I know about it, it's an interesting formation.  As I read it, one of the principal advantages is that the RB has better vision and can also get a little speed built up to with which he can maximize the gaps he sees.  I read somewhere that the play action, screen passing and zone reads can be used interchangeably from the same set with about equal probability of success.  But it's about there that I get in over my head.  Point is, I was wondering if the knowledgeable among us have more to share about it, even though it was/is probably just a trivial experiment.      

Saturdays still seem slow here at BTSC, so I'm doing another post and poll, this time about nose tackle options next off-season.  I like Hampton, and I hope he stays until he's done playing, but I also enjoy the discussion about what our options are if we cannot keep him.  Me personally, I like Kedric Gholston, even though he's not a prototypcial 3-4 nose tackle.  We've had good luck with a free agent from Washington already.  I also like Aleric Mullins a lot, but as a DE, not a NT.  He could be around as a UDFA.  Who knows?

I've been looking pretty hard at draft candidates lately and a lot of names keep surfacing from these two schools in tonight's big game.  Since Saturday is usually a slow post day, I thought I'd slap this up. 

In short, it's a list of players from both schools who are likely pro prospects.  I left some obvious names out, thinking that they were either obviously not available, or not needed.  For my part, I picked Danny McCray as a value free safety with strength as a tackler, though I really like Major Wright.

Pick your favorite to be picked by the Steelers in the draft or even as UDFAs.  Players are in no particular order.

This is an odd question, but does anyone know who substitutes for Willie C.?  Has he missed any downs this year?  I know he didn't miss any in 2007.  He started all games in 2008, and must have missed a few snaps, but I can't find anything about who replaced him for those snaps.  If he should be injured for a couple games, who would replace him?  I'm thinking that Essex might slide over and that either Legursky or Urbik would step in at guard.  But maybe a straight substitution would be made.  In that case, would it be Foster?  He played right tackle almost exclusively in college, but he supposedly backs up LG now...  Urbik?  Presumably better than Foster and he played nearly a season at right tackle for Wisconsin (and otherwise played RG).  Surely it's not Legursky?  Whaddya say?  

There are lots of fanposts these days.  Maybe too many.

I propose a golden rule to be self-administered by us casual contributors.  It goes like this: 

If you have more than, say, 1 fanpost to every 10 comments you make on another post, over the same time period, you're overdoing the fanposts.  That's where the discussion begins.  Is that ratio good, or should it be another?  

To fill the 75 words, I propose a bubble player poll.  But I don't want to do this one.

Anyway, I should be getting close.

There are lots of fanposts these days.  Maybe too many.

I propose a golden rule to be self-administered by us casual contributors.  It goes like this: 

If you have more than, say, 1 fanpost to every 10 comments you make on another post, over the same time period, you're overdoing the fanposts.  That's where the discussion begins.  Is that ratio good, or should it be another?  

To fill the 75 words, I propose a bubble player poll.  But I don't want to do this one.

Anyway, I should be getting close.

A cool little poll.  But dang, I need 75 words.  Forgot about that.  I thought the poll would suffice.  Anyway, more important, perhaps than the poll is your take on who was not on it and why that might be.  Tank Summers comes to mind.  So does Redman.  So does Sonny Harris.  I might add a comment later, if this generates any interest, as to why these guys are not in my poll.  And there are many others which I considered too safe or too risky to be included.  Let's see, is that 75 words?

I always seem to find myself rooting for some late-round pick or UDFA to make the team each year.  In 2006 it was Cedric Humes, who went nowhere.  In 2007 I was pulling for Mike Kudla, who got hurt and fell out of contention-and also Gary Russell.  Last year it was Donovan Woods..  My favorites have been a mixed bag of failure and semi-success.  This year I was rooting for Sonny Harris, but I begin to feel that he will make it, so that story is losing its luster for me. So now I have centered in on David Johnson.

The reason for this is that Summers and Redman are getting enormous attention.  Everyone loves these guys and wants them to stick.  I like them too and especially like that Summers seems to be more than just a good pounder.

But I find David Johnson to be a compelling interest because he, and his role, are overlooked.  He is competing with McHugh for that fullback, H-back, third tight end position. 

Who really pays any attention to what McHugh does?  I vaguely understand that he filled in at FB last year and that he had a big block on some important person.  He also lines up at tight end sometimes and filled in some when Heath was gimpy.  He makes a catch once in a blue moon.   But he really doesn't stick in my mind, except that he is another player who was dredged up from the Lions and made good for us.  I like him, for what I know of him.

But his job is more important than I guessed.  The position needs to be filled by a player who is a solid run and pass blocker and who can also make an occasional catch.  And by solid, I really mean excellent-more excellent than can be generally expected from a normal fullback.   And the key word is "and".  This guy needs to be awesome at both.  To do that, he needs to meet certain specifications.  He needs more leverage in pass protection than the usual stubby fullback, particularly if a play calls for him at TE.  If called upon to run block, he might benefit from having less snaggable surface area than a tight end so he can get past the DT and hit his LB.  . And the occasional catch part is a lot more important than it seems too.  It may not have much to do any one particular catch changing a game, but the threat needs to be there to keep defenses honest.  If he doesn't have excellent hands,  then having better than average YAC will, perhaps, substitute.  Many average tight ends cannot do YAC.  I'm sure you can think of one for sure.

But the collective outcome of having a stud at this position is that it helps Ben.  If this player helps FWP get an extra yard on second down, Ben has more (and perhaps quicker) options on third down.  If third and long still happens, the right guy can extend the pass play by blocking well or perhaps make an emergency catch.  If he makes that catch, and he's got the right physique and mentality, he can get those all-important YACs and move the chains, instead of having a RB do it and get his shoulder broken when he's skipping backward trying to get possession.

Anyway, all of this "helping Ben" may not improve the line, but it will make the line seem better.  That's good enough for me this year.

Don't get me wrong, I am not that discontent with McHugh, but I am wondering if Johnson could more thoroughly meet the need, being stronger and more compact..  And considering that Denver traded up (with us) to get Richard Quinn in the second round, who does not seem even one round better than our guy, much less five,  I'm guessing that David Johnson is an exceptional value.

Khalif Barnes, OT, Jax Jags has never been to a Pro Bowl. Drafted at spot 52 in 2005, he ended up playing the last twelve games of that season and helped his team improve their record from 9-7 in 2004 to 12-4 in 2005. He has started ever since, except that in this offseason he signed with Oakland. In the wake of his departure, Jax spent their first two picks on the offensive line. In the three previous seasons, they only drafted one lineman earlier than the 7th round (a 5th rounder).

I wrote all this because it is said that he improved the whole offensive line and helped make it possible for the Jags to go 12-4 in 2005 and 2007. They beat Pittsburgh three times in that stretch and even beat us twice in Pittsburgh in 2007. Remember that? They were tied with the undefeated Patriots at halftime in their last playoff game that year before succumbing. A dynamite team. The Jags had 1959 yards rushing in Khalif's first season, but that number spiked to 2541 in 2006, and still remained at 2391 in 2007. Of course, they drafted Maurice Jones-Drew in 2006, which helped. Sacks throughout the period hovered at just over 30.

These recent days, the Jax press have taken to picking at his faults and it has been written that he isn't really athletic enough to play tackle, or at least left tackle.

The whole point of this is not Khalif Barnes, but to wonder if one non-elite lineman could make the same difference in Pittsburgh. I'm speaking of Urbik. Yeah, Urbik was a 79 pick and Barnes was a 52. Urbik is a guard, Barnes is a tackle. Barnes played in his first year, Urbik may not. But is it possible that a starting Urbik could bring to the World-Champion Steelers that needed element that could change the offensive line enough to bring it respect? That our offense could become really dominant?

Just one guy?

I posted something like this elsewhere on the site, but I think the thread is dead, or mostly so.  I also slapped up a fanpost over at Pride of Detroit to see what there take might be.  Anyway, the post goes like this: 

I wrote a couple months ago that I’d like to get George Foster OT in free agency. That was before Detroit resigned him. Yeah, I know, people say he sucks nowadays.  But he was a first round draft pick and he has a ton of experience with the zone blocking thing. When he was in Denver, he played every snap the year that they only allowed 15 sacks. He weighs 338. He’s gotta be an upgrade on the weak side (apologies to Willie, who earned a ring after all).  Whaddaya say?

I read and post over at BehindtheSteelCurtain.  I hated to barge in and slap up a fanpost, but the Larry Foote thread looked to be running down.  In reference to my question above, I am wondering what adjustments would need to happen to make a trade like this work.  Extra picks to us, or to you?  Or straight up?  It will never happen I suppose, since Foster is lightly regarded these days.  But I like his body of work at Denver and suspect he has some greatness left in the right situation.  Whaddaya say?

I wanted to post in someone else's mock, not start my own post.  Everyone  is fanposting with no mock drafts.  So here goes...

1 Alphonso Smith CB Wake Forest
2 Terrence Taylor DT Michigan
3 Tyronne Green OG Auburn
4 Jason Watkins OT Florida
5 Anthony Hill TE  North Carolina
5 Joshua Magua ILB Nevada
6 Frank Summers RB UNLV
7 Ra'Shon Harris DT Oregon
7 Demonté Bolden DT Tennessee

Whaddya think?  I don't really have confidence that we can get Josh Magua and Frank Summers.  And it seems that everyone thinks that Terrence Taylor is a third rounder.  It's just that with more teams jumping on the  3-4 bandwagon, decent nose tackles are going to be tough to get.

Almost everyone has chimed in recently about their favorite value picks, the unknown superstar in the making we just have to get.   And we have all listed our good solid reasons why.  But what I want to know about are the really odd ducks out there that are truly overlooked by just about everyone.  Anyone have an odd duck that will surprise the world, like our own James Harrison did?   It should be someone that you are embarrassed to mention because no one will believe you.  Anybody?

Big Snack? 

If Hampton were to get injured, could Hoke be a suitable multi-year replacement?  Or would there be a scramble to get someone better?  Maybe no one will care enough about this to post, but I really just want to know. 

I really like Hoke, but I'm guessing that he is not quite big and dominating enough to be a long-term 3-4 NT.  And the Steelers place more importance on having a quality nose tackle than any offensive line position. That's why I believe that the front office will draft a nose tackle in the first round this year.  That way, he will get a year of experience before Hampton's contract expires, and then if Hampton does not wish to restructure his contract less expensively, a replacement will be ready.  Not that I don't like Hampton...

Anyone have an opinion about a particular FA offensive lineman in the wider NFL who would be a better fit than one of our own FA offensive lineman?  By better fit, I mean at least incrementally better performance than what we have for good value.  Just as an example, would anyone vouch for Jason Brown of the Ravens (RFA)?  He has played center and left guard.  He made $1.4 million last year.  Any possibility that he would be a step up from Kemoeatu (who also made $1.4 million)?

You'd think I'd simply be ecstatic to get to the Super Bowl, but I still find the need to get some reassurance about these Arizona Cardinals and what the real deal is with them.

     Perhaps the biggest stat is their ten picks in the post season.  Wow.  Yet, taking aside the Titans game, which was an aberration in nearly every category, Ben has only thrown one pick since the New England Game and none in the playoffs.

      They have also gotten awesome play from their wide receivers.  Yet we have only given up 23 pass plays over 20 yards in the regular season.  Only three other teams have given up less than 38 with each of those still allowing 33 .  The vaunted Philadelphia defense gave up 47.  Carolina?  43.  Atlanta?  48.  That's an average of double what we gave up.

      We did this against the Eagles, the Giants, the Patriots, the Chargers, the Colts, the Titans, and the Cowboys. 

      Also, we only allowed two pass plays over 40 yards all year.  The Panthers and Eagles combined for 16.

      And we have 20 picks this season.  Atlanta and Carolina had only 22 combined.

      So, don't think to yourselves that the Cardinals something that approximates the Steeler defense when they played these teams.  We will be a totally new thing to them.

     While doing all this, we still managed to lead the league in sacks...

I find it important when the Steelers are in the playoffs to boil down important advantages down to meaningful bite-sized chunks that I can easily regurgitate when conversation inevitably and frequently turns to THE GAME. Here's one for you anxious and excited fans looking for such lovely morsels to give you reassurance and optimism in these weary countdown hours: 35 minutes.

Stop combing the web looking for data about the state of Suggs injury. He was injured with 5 minutes to go before halftime. And he didn't return. He didn't return for the final 35 minutes of the game.

So now look...if a stud like Suggs could not return, even though he had what amounted to something like two hours of real time, in the biggest game of his life, he really is that injured. We don't need an MRI. We don't need to anxiously wring our hands as to whether he is working a con against us with his press conference.  It is really true that Suggs is hurt that bad. He is. And it is completely irrelevant as to whether he suits up and starts. So if you see him trotting out onto the field, don't worry about it. The Terrell Suggs we all know is gone for the season.  Just because someone plays with "Suggs" on his jersey is irrelevant.

Also, even though McClain did return after his injury, he couldn't keep it up and had to throw in the towel.  Now, if someone can do a fanpost about the amount of time he spent back on the field before he had to leave, that would be a morsel I'd like to eat.

Gotta ask. Doesn't Pittsburgh hold a tie-breaker over the stinkin' Ravens even if they lose? Wait, I have the rules now.... just looking  and it would come down to best record in common games due to the fact that our division records would be identical ...So, aside taking away our division games, our common opponents are these:

Tennessee

Indianapolis

Houston

New York Giants

Philapelphia

Washington

Dallas

Jax

To date, Baltimore is 3-3  with Dallas and Jax to go.

We are 4-3 with only Tennessee to go.  So, if we lose to Baltimore and then win out (assuming that Tenn has nothing to play for),  and Baltimore also wins out, we both end up 5-3 against common opponents.  But we win the tiebreaker, because the tie-breaker must then shift to conference record!  Baltimore  has already lost an extra conference game (Tennessee). 

If we gotta lose to Baltimore (perish the thought!) then this is the time to do it.  A Pittsburgh loss to Baltimore gives Tennessee home field throughout the playoffs and takes away much of their motivation to play bruiseball with the Steelers.