Way too early 2022 offseason thoughts

[43M]

8 minutes ago, AFF said:

I consider him and Loudermilk kinda like 2 1/2s put together to form a solid 3-4 DE...Loudermilk doesn’t look to have much pass rush ability but showed some flashes against the run....in his 2nd year he should get better.

I don’t think they can solve both nose and the future of the DEs in just 1 offseason.

FWIW I don’t think Tuitt is coming back.

Id try to lock down 1 spot this offseason and add to it more for 2023.

I can agree with that.   My guess is they will draft one in the mid rounds.    I dont think DL will be a priority this year, if only because we have too many other spots to fill.

If one they really like falls, I could see it happening earlier, but its unlikely.

[MOSteelers56]

2 hours ago, jebrick said:

If Alualu comes back and Tuitt retires, it moves DT further down in the draft.

Players that fit mold that the Steelers like:

Zachary Carter, Florida

John Ridgeway Arkansas

Cory Durden NC State.

LaBryan Ray Bama

Others i like but would have to bulk up

Cameron Thomas SDSt

Tyler Johnson Az St

Nick Figueroa USC

 

Of course, they could always draft Travis Jones so they have someone behind Alualu

 

I love Ridgeway and Travis Jones.

[warfelg]

Really reads like they see him more as an interior swing OL than starting C. 

[warfelg]

 

[43M]

23 minutes ago, warfelg said:

 

As long as they dont value mobility over passing ability, I dont care.    That would be like valuing tackling and physicality in defensive backs over coverage ability....which they did for years and it never worked.  

[warfelg]

1 minute ago, 43M said:

As long as they dont value mobility over passing ability, I dont care.    That would be like valuing tackling and physicality in defensive backs over coverage ability....which they did for years and it never worked.  

I am curious to see this. I think a Joe Burrow type mobility is perfect. You can run RPO, move behind the LOS, be able to keep it once in a blue moon and get chunk yardage on the run. I’d prefer that over the Hurts/Jackson of the running opens the pass. 

[43M]

1 minute ago, warfelg said:

I am curious to see this. I think a Joe Burrow type mobility is perfect. You can run RPO, move behind the LOS, be able to keep it once in a blue moon and get chunk yardage on the run. I’d prefer that over the Hurts/Jackson of the running opens the pass. 

I agree. 

I prefer "QBs with mobility" over "mobile QBs"....if that makes sense.

[Steeler Hitman]

19 hours ago, Dcash4 said:

meant to post this here. 

I am not knocking or discounting the power of being positive. I agree that you need actions to go with the positive thoughts, motivations, and desires. 

Yes they will more than likely get better for a variety of reasons and a variety of changes! 

Matt Canada would look better running his scheme with the right personnel to execute it.  That says nothing for the fact that he did a horrible job of adjusting his play calling and scheme to the personnel.  I have said for many years the team tries the square peg in round hole approach with a lot of things/decisions.  You want to power run, but use finesse personnel. The best power running lineman was on the bench all year Zach Banner). Why??

Ben was extremely limited.  I think he was capable of doing more things if he was given better situations/opportunities. I think early on Big Ben was capable of doing more. As the season went on, he seemed to wear down more. The accuracy and arm strength was not the same in my opinion. The situational play calling stunk. Third and two and they run 40 yard 50/50 balls. Third and 19 and they run a three yard pattern. 🤬

It is the offseason and time to put on your big boy honesty boxers. The standard is the standard and the offensive play, run defense, and overall play is below the standard period!  Actually exclamation point! 😀

19 hours ago, warfelg said:

I wouldn’t big yikes too much yet. His qualifier of “obvious tangible reasons” feels like a “didn’t have the right personnel.”

I agree with something Jebrick said in an earlier post/thread,(paraphrase) "The team has to decide on what it wants to and the right personnel to do it.  You want to be a power run team, get some phone booth maulers. You want to be a zone run team, then employ the agile type of OL's we have had. 

In my opinion it is time for a change. I want to get back to true Steelers tough physical mauling football. I want to win by knockouts and not by out boxing.  I want to have the ability to box, but I want to be known as a puncher so to speak. We said back in 2016 that there is a window and it has closed. Last year (early) showed some hope for a last hurrah, despite not having all of the offensive horses. It has been all downhill from there and pretty mediocre in terms of consistency and the ability to play complimentary football.  

No doubt, it is personnel or lack thereof. But it is also coaching and organization as they have not adjusted or made changes to what they have available. You have to have the right ingredients to cook certain things. Without it, it tastes like crap. That has been our football team. Trying to make meatloaf with bologna. 💩

[jebrick]

Moore, Green and Chuks are more zone or wide zone type line men.  Dotson, Turner, Banner and Hassenaur are power running olinemen.  The Steelers seem to want to run power run with the plays that they call and Harris' style.  They sometimes run zone runs but Harris is just not good at that.  When you see plays that Harris is trying to look like L. Bell, those are generally zone runs.

With Harris, I would draft some big mauler like Salyer ( Georgia) and/or Daniel Faalele (Rt Minn) and begin pounding down hill.

 

[AFF]

12 minutes ago, jebrick said:

Moore, Green and Chuks are more zone or wide zone type line men.  Dotson, Turner, Banner and Hassenaur are power running olinemen.  The Steelers seem to want to run power run with the plays that they call and Harris' style.  They sometimes run zone runs but Harris is just not good at that.  When you see plays that Harris is trying to look like L. Bell, those are generally zone runs.

With Harris, I would draft some big mauler like Salyer ( Georgia) and/or Daniel Faalele (Rt Minn) and begin pounding down hill.

 

From your previous posts, it seemed like you were lower on Linderbaum than most...is this a reason as he’s on the smaller side?

[Dcash4]

1 hour ago, Steeler Hitman said:

Matt Canada would look better running his scheme with the right personnel to execute it

My fear is that we are going to buy into crafting a roster the way Matt Canada wants it because at this point in time, the most likely thing to happen is for Matt Canada to be an awful play caller again. Then here we are a year later, having taken players that fit his mold....and we are going to probably change the mold. 

There is a reason why Canada was let go midway through an LSU season. There's reason he has coached a bunch of different teams for short periods of time. There's reason why NFL coaches like Reid and McVay picked Canada's brain but never offered him a job. There's reason we picked him up off the street when he wasn't employed anywhere. 

We are buying into that guy to mold our roster for a second year after everything in the first year tells you not to. I have no doubt we will look better next year, because it's awfully hard to look worse. But at best, Canada looks like a bottom third OC....I'm not sure why we think that's good enough. 

[MOSteelers56]

Maybe Canada can build the foundation of a modern offense. Then we ditch him in a year or two and bring in someone who can call plays. 

[Steeler Hitman]

3 hours ago, Dcash4 said:

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My fear is that we are going to buy into crafting a roster the way Matt Canada wants it because at this point in time,

If they are committed to giving him a second chance, then he needs to have players that fit his scheme. This has been a problem with the Steelers for a long time. When DC **** Le Beau left his blueprint and players when HC Mike Tomlin wanted to do some things differently. It has been a growing process and the defense has had its share of growing pains. One of the bad things in sometime inheriting philosophies and that. I get not wanting to blow up the Steelers two years after winning a SB in 2007 with a young HC and a veteran team. The defense had success in 2008, but it was downhill after that and took some time to begin to change philosophies and the type of players drafted as well. 

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the most likely thing to happen is for Matt Canada to be an awful play caller again.

That seems to be his weakness just as Coach T has some issues with in-game situation calls.  I am not a Canada fan and he did little to make me one. I was more of a Todd Haley fan. BTW, another coordinator who was a terrible play caller. But Haley did things to make Ben better and is probably an under-rated and under-appreciated reason that Ben played in his 18th season. It is two fold; coordinators and coaches look horrible with not having the talent to execute what you are trying to do. You look a whole lot smarter with great talent around you that can execute or win in your scheme. It is further complicated when the situational calls are repetitively bad.  Our receivers dropped or missed catchable balls. Big Ben overthrew or more often under-threw passes with open receivers.  Our OL could not sustain blocks to let a play fully develop or receivers to complete their routes. Rhetorical trivia question: When was the last time the Steelers offense could consistently run screen passes?  Key word is consistently.  They hit a few in the Lev Bell era, but honestly going back to the days of Rashaad Mendenhall at RB. We have and had OLs who can move, RB's who can run or where shifty, but this was severely lacking. Only second to the inability to run play-action passes. 

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Then here we are a year later, having taken players that fit his mold....and we are going to probably change the mold.

I am going to go back to Jebrick's comment/point, pick a scheme and players and build around it.  

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There is a reason why Canada was let go midway through an LSU season. There's reason he has coached a bunch of different teams for short periods of time. There's reason why NFL coaches like Reid and McVay picked Canada's brain but never offered him a job.

He's smart innovative and knows football. You can't take that from him. However, he has not always been a good fit in places and some coordinators get to married to their playbook and do not have flexibility, dexterity, and humility to adjust what they do to fit the talent and abilities of what they have. How many HC's bomb and are offered other jobs before a lot of other candidates are given their first chance.  I remind everyone that Bill Belichick was labeled a losing HC and someone who should stick to be a DC before turning it around. Not saying that is Matt Canada, but it takes being in the right environment. Ask Nick Saban. 

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There's reason we picked him up off the street when he wasn't employed anywhere. 

I am not a huge Matt Canada fan, but he is an innovative football guy. It hasn't worked here and there are a variety of reasons. I believe that many are his trying to pound square pegs in round holes. You can't get 39 year old Ben to do what a 25 year old athletic QB could do. 

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We are buying into that guy to mold our roster for a second year after everything in the first year tells you not to.

Truthfully not all Canada. How many years has Mr. Rooney said commit to running, yet they drafted players and have built around trying to pass or use the two yard pass as a run. 🤬

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I have no doubt we will look better next year, because it's awfully hard to look worse. But at best, Canada looks like a bottom third OC....I'm not sure why we think that's good enough. 

I don't think anyone honestly does think it is good enough. Stubbornness, pride, and the unwillingness to do something different can hurt us all.  Many of us have suggested changing from what was the "norm." That window has closed. Yet........ Throwing 40 yard passes on third and one and throwing 2 yard passes on third and 15 are only part of the problem. Matt owns that, but there is plenty of blame to go around for a lot of the other reasons why the offense and team stumbles.  You want power football, you get power football players and tailor your scheme to that. One reason why I keep saying go back a bit ole' school and get a space occupying NG. I get the game has changed from 2005, but in January when some teams start trying to run and when you get in third or fourth and one, teams won't be slamming us for 5 and 6 yard runs in that situation. 

 

2 hours ago, MOSteelers56 said:

Maybe Canada can build the foundation of a modern offense. Then we ditch him in a year or two and bring in someone who can call plays. 

If they like his innovaton and scheme, then an  even better idea is to get him to improve in his play calling.😬 You have 100 plays with two or three yard routes, yet on third and one you consistently throw the 50/50 deep ball. On third and fifteen why not take the shot on the deep pass? IJS! 

[August4th]

 

[MOSteelers56]

37 minutes ago, Steeler Hitman said:

If they like his innovaton and scheme, then an  even better idea is to get him to improve in his play calling.😬 You have 100 plays with two or three yard routes, yet on third and one you consistently throw the 50/50 deep ball. On third and fifteen why not take the shot on the deep pass? IJS! 

That was happening long before Canada got here.