State of the Steelers

[MOSteelers56]

2 hours ago, bigben07MVP said:

I both agree and disagree. Slot WR is an underrated need but I also think we will be towards the bottom of the league in 11 personnel.  A stud blocking TE2 who is also a threat to catch passes could be just as useful as an upgrade to slot WR. 

Edit: After doing some digging we were ranked 9th in the NFL in 11 personnel with Canada last year. How much of a philosophy shift we see next year can be debated. I personally would like to see less of it with a shift towards ground and pound. Get a TE who can be a mauler in the run game but also motion over to the slot if you have a matchup you like. 

Just spitballing here, would be interested to hear some thoughts on slot WR vs TE2 upgrade.

I can see taking a really good #2 TE over a slot guy. I think if it was just relating to this draft, I'd take the TE. I think the TE class is much much better than the WR class. Depends on how we want the offense to run, though. I'm pretty interested in Darnell Washington, but he's kind of the only one I really want. I'm not sure the kid from Michigan is going to be much better than Gentry. I'd rather take one early. 

Something else to think about, though, is Watt not being re-signed. We could replace almost every one of Watt's offensive snaps with Baby Hey. Maybe we could be looking for a more receiving TE, keep Gentry as the blocker, obviously keep Pat where he is, and move Heyward to FB. If that's the case, there are some solid guys that play a more move TE spot. It is an interesting thing to think about. 

[jebrick]

3 hours ago, bigben07MVP said:

I both agree and disagree. Slot WR is an underrated need but I also think we will be towards the bottom of the league in 11 personnel.  A stud blocking TE2 who is also a threat to catch passes could be just as useful as an upgrade to slot WR. 

Edit: After doing some digging we were ranked 9th in the NFL in 11 personnel with Canada last year. How much of a philosophy shift we see next year can be debated. I personally would like to see less of it with a shift towards ground and pound. Get a TE who can be a mauler in the run game but also motion over to the slot if you have a matchup you like. 

Just spitballing here, would be interested to hear some thoughts on slot WR vs TE2 upgrade.

I think the guy is full of poo.  There is no such thing as a "slot WR" in the NFL any more.  You can scheme any of your WR to have a free release.

ILB is the #1 hole for the Steeler team right now.  Change my mind.

[bigben07MVP]

Just now, jebrick said:

ILB is the #1 hole for the Steeler team right now.  Change my mind.

Agreed

LB, CB, DL, S, WR, OT is my order

[MOSteelers56]

5 minutes ago, jebrick said:

ILB is the #1 hole for the Steeler team right now.  Change my mind.

The only argument I have to this(which is not a big one) is that I trust Cole Holcomb to stay decent after one year. I struggle to think Pat Pete is going to keep up his play for very much longer at his age. But you are right, ILB is a massive need. I don't trust Roberts or Robinson at all. Holcomb, I like, but I'm worried he could be another Joe Schobert. 

[3rivers]

45 minutes ago, bigben07MVP said:

Agreed

LB, CB, DL, S, WR, OT is my order

so you don't see LT as important as many that want to trade up for a LT?

 

49 minutes ago, jebrick said:

ILB is the #1 hole for the Steeler team right now.  Change my mind.

it has been a problem but are  you not expecting both Holcomb and Roberts to start and do well?

What would you like with the first 4 pick and which players in particular? Is Campbell the ILB in the draft you think would be the best for the Steelers?

[bigben07MVP]

46 minutes ago, 3rivers said:

so you don't see LT as important as many that want to trade up for a LT?

I am fine with Moore for another year at his cost and I think playing next to Seumalo will benefit him greatly. If this opportunity presents itself for a clear upgrade, I am fine with it.

I do not want Roberts to be relied on as the full time starter at LB.

 

[MOSteelers56]

6 minutes ago, bigben07MVP said:

I am fine with Moore for another year at his cost and I think playing next to Seumalo will benefit him greatly. If this opportunity presents itself for a clear upgrade, I am fine with it.

I do not want Roberts to be relied on as the full time starter at LB.

 

I agree with all of this sentiment. Roberts is a fine run down guy, but I don't want him playing any snaps in coverage. Same as Robinson so far. I think we're going to see a lot of 1 ILB on the field this season. 

[jebrick]

57 minutes ago, 3rivers said:

so you don't see LT as important as many that want to trade up for a LT?

 

it has been a problem but are  you not expecting both Holcomb and Roberts to start and do well?

What would you like with the first 4 pick and which players in particular? Is Campbell the ILB in the draft you think would be the best for the Steelers?

I think Simpson is the best pick but I could also see Nolan Smith.  CAmpbell is behind Sanders so #4 for my ILB choices.

[Ward4HOF]

7 minutes ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I agree with all of this sentiment. Roberts is a fine run down guy, but I don't want him playing any snaps in coverage. Same as Robinson so far. I think we're going to see a lot of 1 ILB on the field this season. 

I also agree, but at the same time, I find it hard to have a more 'vanilla' ILB corb, than we had last year.  They made ZERO splash plays, and I'm betting Robberts forces a fumble within the first 6 weeks, and for Holcomb to have at least one INT by then, or maybe, another FF...I don't think these guys are going to miss a lot of tackles, or get ridden backwards 3-4 yards, every other tackle.

So, looking at it like that, I'd have to say that CB is our biggest need.  We need at least one premier, physically gifted with solid football intelligence, to get this year to work with both, Peterson and Wallace.  Wallace is fairly savvy, just not physically gifted enough to keep up half the times.  And honestly, I'd then look at SS.  I'm not holding out a lot of hope for Neal, tbh.  If we are comparing need at ILB vs S, in general, then yeah, I agree ILB is the bigger issue, but if it's strictly ILB vs SS, then I'm gonna say SS is a bigger need.  ILB is 2nd, maybe 3rd, in importance...and then, it's a pretty far drop down to OT or OC.  Cole might be overmatched, sometimes, so a guy like Tippman, or Avila, might be nice to transition to, but OT?  Sure, they can be upgraded, but looking at CB, ILB, and SS, we are talking about drafing to replace back-up-level player, or filling a niche (slot CB) or drafting a future replacement, due to age, but I think all of our OL, are young, starter-worthy players, who play well enough for us to be successful this season.

Oh...and then, we could use a mid-round WR, a depth Edge guy, and maybe, a 7thRd/UDFA-level developmental QB... 

[3rivers]

39 minutes ago, jebrick said:

I think Simpson is the best pick but I could also see Nolan Smith.  CAmpbell is behind Sanders so #4 for my ILB choices.

where do you rank Henley?

[Dcash4]

2 hours ago, jebrick said:

ILB is the #1 hole for the Steeler team right now.  Change my mind.

I will change your mind in two words. 

Arthur Maulet. 

I would personally argue the necessity for a top of the line ILB prospect, but I absolutely recognize the need at the position on our roster. But IMO, there is no bigger need than defensive back at this stage. 

DB, like OL, is a weakest link group. Right now, Maulet, Pierre, or Norwood (Witherspoon?) are logging significant snaps.

It would be nice to have an top end ILB but this team needs a CB that can add a little juice. 

[43M]

1 hour ago, Dcash4 said:

I will change your mind in two words. 

Arthur Maulet. 

I would personally argue the necessity for a top of the line ILB prospect, but I absolutely recognize the need at the position on our roster. But IMO, there is no bigger need than defensive back at this stage. 

DB, like OL, is a weakest link group. Right now, Maulet, Pierre, or Norwood (Witherspoon?) are logging significant snaps.

It would be nice to have an top end ILB but this team needs a CB that can add a little juice. 

I dont disagree that DB is our weakest position, but I am a firm believer that pass rush and front 7 are more vital to the success of pass defense than DBs.   Thats not meant to downplay the needs in the secondary, but its extremely rare to find lockdown corners, and we have had good pass defenses with largely average talent at CB for years, and we saw the difference in our pass defense with and without TJ Watt.

Beyond that, its very arguable that the weakest part of our pass defense is our short/intermediate pass D.   We need ILBs that can stick with at least the decent athlete TEs, so in that regard, I get where @jebrick is coming from with ILB being our biggest need.

Either way....I think both need to be strongly considered in the first 2 rounds.

[August4th]

https://www.steelernation.com/2023/04/11/steelers-potential-enormous-trade-2023-nfl-draft-bears?fbclid=IwAR09Kl37eKrWYuI9EyKIYa4qS-4MWWUtlrXGctZBhH6SidGLa6aqhf8Wv6g

some media chatter, would you guys be fine with trading up into the top 10? and for who?

[MOSteelers56]

2 minutes ago, August4th said:

https://www.steelernation.com/2023/04/11/steelers-potential-enormous-trade-2023-nfl-draft-bears?fbclid=IwAR09Kl37eKrWYuI9EyKIYa4qS-4MWWUtlrXGctZBhH6SidGLa6aqhf8Wv6g

some media chatter, would you guys be fine with trading up into the top 10? and for who?

I’d trade up for Carter. Maybe Anderson. I wouldn’t really want to do it for either of them, though. 

[MOSteelers56]

2 hours ago, Dcash4 said:

I will change your mind in two words. 

Arthur Maulet. 

I would personally argue the necessity for a top of the line ILB prospect, but I absolutely recognize the need at the position on our roster. But IMO, there is no bigger need than defensive back at this stage. 

DB, like OL, is a weakest link group. Right now, Maulet, Pierre, or Norwood (Witherspoon?) are logging significant snaps.

It would be nice to have an top end ILB but this team needs a CB that can add a little juice. 

That’s a good post. Thanks for adding it. This is why I want Brian Branch. I think he’s a bigger, faster, much better coverage version of Mike Hilton. He could step into the Hilton role and be a real difference maker immediately. I don’t think he can ever be a boundary CB, but I think he could be a really versatile coverage S/NCB that provides good tackling and run support.