2020 O-Line

[3rivers]

4 hours ago, Steeler Hitman said:

he is not a devastating drive blocker, he will mix it up inside and can still run and pull very well

why not get a player that is devastating and can drive block. Also, Pouncey might pull, but usually does nothing once he pulls, except miss the would be blocks. 

I don't expect much from this team in the offseason regarding OL improvement. Get used to what is here, not 2011 but not 2014 either, and with ben returning with fichner, there will be no run game either

[3rivers]

On 2019-12-30 at 3:40 PM, kurgan said:

Pouncey aint going anywhere until Ben retires.  Consider him as good as a lock for the 2020 OL

once again, ben controlling the team in a way that is counter productive

[Steeler Hitman]

19 hours ago, 3rivers said:

why not get a player that is devastating and can drive block? 

The Quentin Nelson's, David Decastro's, etc. do not grow on trees.  In a perfect world, yes this is what we all would like. The Steelers OL of now are different from the Steelers OL of Bill Cowher.  Coach Cowher had guys that could maul you and beat you up. The only versatile, devastating blocker and great pass bloker was Dermonti Dawson. They had guys who would attack you in the run game, but struggled against good pass rushers (Brendan Stai and Kendall Simmons types). I think they need to have a balance of both types. One of the reasons that I am an advocate for letting all 53 players dress on game days. 

Also, Pouncey might pull, but usually does nothing once he pulls, except miss the would be blocks. 

I know that you are not a Pouncey fan, but I don't believe that you are being objective in your evaluation or opinion of him.  He does do some things right. C'mon!  He may not be Pouncey of old, but he is not a bum either. Our OL is better with him than without him.  I get that some people can be homers too, but I think that Pouncey still has some skills, Ben loves him and he is good for the Steelers in many other ways as well. While he may no longer be elite (and many here objectively have stated that they never felt that he ever was), he is still in the good to very good category.  His strength is moving and getting to the next level. This suits a pulling LG well. His struggle is against the bigger monster type NG's. Playing OG would play to his strength and help to cut down on a weakness.

I don't expect much from this team in the offseason regarding OL improvement. Get used to what is here, not 2011 but not 2014 either, and with ben returning with fichner, there will be no run game either

I don't think the Steelers are as stubborn as many people try to make them out to be. In the past, yes. It was strictly the Steeler way.  However, the Steeler way has not won a SB since 2008. They lost to the Packers in 2010 because of a reluctance to get some CB's who can cover to go with the pass rush. Wile the Steelers have not hit paydirt, they have done a lot of things "outside the normal Steeler way" to get better. Example: Trading for Minkah Fitzpatrick, extending Ben, Brown, and trying to sign Bell to large contracts, etc.

I am not being overly optimistic nor am I trying to be overly  pessimistic, but I think this team is fighting to win.  It would have been easy for them to lay down and quit after the drama of a few years, past underacheiving failures, and the Franchise going down week #2.  They hung in there and kept fighting. I think they will continue to do that. After seeing some of the success of the Patriots and now Ravens with running the ball the Steelers will look to be able to do the same.  Ben is not 27 anymore and a slid rushing attack would help do wonders for our offense.

[MOSteelers56]

I don't think moving Pouncey to LG is a good option. Unless we re-sign Finney, we probably aren't going to find another center that is as good/has as good a relationship with Ben. If we could find someone better, I wouldn't be opposed to it, as long as Pouncey wouldn't cause a stink. It would be nice to have two guards that can move in space, though.

[3rivers]

Finney at C, Banner at LG. I think that interior with DDC would be able to run between the tackles and pass pro much better than what we have had in the last few years, or at least much better than 2019, post Munchak OL. What loss Munchak was, I can't believe how bad the OL became without the great OL coach. 

[Dcash4]

1 hour ago, 3rivers said:

pass pro much better than what we have had in the last few years

I just....I mean....I can’t....

what???????!

[3rivers]

10 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I don't think moving Pouncey to LG is a good option. Unless we re-sign Finney, we probably aren't going to find another center that is as good/has as good a relationship with Ben. If we could find someone better, I wouldn't be opposed to it, as long as Pouncey wouldn't cause a stink. It would be nice to have two guards that can move in space, though.

sometimes teams have to decide to move on from high priced vets that were good leaders etc. It might be that time for the steelers with Foster and Pouncey, especially considering the injury pouncey got.It's not always ethical, but it's a cold business . I know I wouldn't like to get fired/cut from a job especially if I was recovering from surgery or have had a few surgeries over the years, but thats the nfl, which pays a bit more than my job

The OL might be worse next year, and I have no faith in the OL coach after seeing what happened this year. The days of a good OL are over, get used to it

[Steeler Hitman]

19 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I don't think moving Pouncey to LG is a good option. Unless we re-sign Finney, we probably aren't going to find another center that is as good/has as good a relationship with Ben. If we could find someone better, I wouldn't be opposed to it, as long as Pouncey wouldn't cause a stink. It would be nice to have two guards that can move in space, though.

I don't think it will happen, but I threw that out as an option.  Ben wouldn't be losing him completely as he is still on the line, but I get the closeness of the Center and QB relationship.  However, I think fielding the best players in the best spots would trump that.  If we could get another big Center who can snap more consistently in the Shotgun (both Pouncey and Finney had their struggles) and match up better drive blocking with some of the bigger NG's; it is a win win in my humble opinion. A great defense and a solid rushing attack helped both Elway and Peyton win in Denver. While I don't believe that Ben has regressed to that level, I think Big Ben's game would be that much more effective with an OL that  can help him with a punishing rushing attack and a stingy defense.

[MOSteelers56]

2 hours ago, Steeler Hitman said:

I don't think it will happen, but I threw that out as an option.  Ben wouldn't be losing him completely as he is still on the line, but I get the closeness of the Center and QB relationship.  However, I think fielding the best players in the best spots would trump that.  If we could get another big Center who can snap more consistently in the Shotgun (both Pouncey and Finney had their struggles) and match up better drive blocking with some of the bigger NG's; it is a win win in my humble opinion. A great defense and a solid rushing attack helped both Elway and Peyton win in Denver. While I don't believe that Ben has regressed to that level, I think Big Ben's game would be that much more effective with an OL that  can help him with a punishing rushing attack and a stingy defense.

I mean, in an ideal world we could draft the top rated center in the draft and that would work out. Except the top center is projected to be a top 20 pick. 

[AFF]

If Foster is cut and and Finney leaves, have Banner and Chuks battle at RT, move Feiler to LG and draft a Day 2 C/G prospect.

LosingPatrick Morris and Fred Johnson might come back to hurt us...especially Johnson. 

IIRC, he was projected to be s rd4 or so pick, went undrafted and Steelers gave him a good sized signing bonus as a UDFA.

[Steeler Hitman]

3 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I mean, in an ideal world we could draft the top rated center in the draft and that would work out. Except the top center is projected to be a top 20 pick. 

I don't get too caught up with draft projections in January and February because we know how that changes by the time April rolls around.  Bush went from an end of season early second day pick to late first rounder to top ten. And there were others who started on the mountain and then tumbled for various reasons.  We see this every year. I do believe that good lineman can be drafted and developed late especially interior lineman.  Give me a big McNsty C/G who can move and is a tireless worker and I can develop a good interior lineman. Again, guys like Quentin Nelson are rare specimens, but you can find guys like Matt Fieler from Bloomsburgh. Those are the guys that can develop into something special because they have the work ethic.  I would not be opposed to getting an established moderatly priced free agent C.  I do like BJ Finney and his versatility, but we also need to improve with the Shotgun snaps.  Maybe that is something that Ben was used to and won't be as much of an issue for him, but I would look to upgrade from a consistency standpoint. Do they feel more comfortable with Fieler moving and Banner and Chuks being able to handle RT? If so, it is a mute point and Pouncey stays at C. 

[Chieferific]

3 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I mean, in an ideal world we could draft the top rated center in the draft and that would work out. Except the top center is projected to be a top 20 pick. 

Obviously depending where you look...Nick Harris is projected at #49 and could be a good one.  I don't think I'd want to spend that pick on an OC because I don't see Pouncey going anywhere and we need more impactful players during Ben's Swan Song.