Steelers Draft and Mel Kiper sucks thread!!

Didn't the Patriots I think do that awhile back

 

I don't believe they "officially" did it, but hybrid-style defenses have been coming for awhile. Within the past 5-6 years, and ESPECIALLY against good QB's, teams are having to play a TON of sub package football in order to keep up with receivers. To combat this, defensive coordinators are having to re-work their own schemes in order to disguise blitzes and get to the QB from a ton of different angles. Last year, it was noted that our CB's were getting sacks at the same rate as some of our LB's and the reason for that was because of sub package ball.

One of the main reasons I believe that Dick LeBeau was "put out to pasture" was because he didn't want to mold his defense into a hybrid system. He kept running the same schemes and, eventually, people caught up to it. The thing that had been the dagger in THAT defense (5-8 yard slant routes) became the staple of the west-coast offense. A TON of teams (including ours) runs this type of offense and it forces the pass rush to chill out and puts a lot of pressure on linebackers in coverage. With that in mind, you still have to find ways to get pressure, so if you are going to employ 5-6 DB's, might as well send some of them at the QB.

The staple of the LeBeau-led 3-4 defense was always a war of attrition; stop the run and give teams the underneath routes, with the hope and assumption that they would make a mistake. It worked for a really long time, but some offenses took that idea and used it to gas defenses. New England was a prime example of this, opting to use an occasional and unpredictable running game with consistent short routes aimed at slowly killing a defense, and it has had a pretty decent amount of success (4 Super Bowls rings and 6 total appearances in 14 years).

At this point, defensive coordinators are trying to "keep up with the Joneses" and create a bunch of different looks aimed at making offenses have to beat them a bunch of different ways. We'll stop the run, we'll stop the pass, we'll play man, we'll play zone, etc. However, the KEY to all of this success does come from pressure and toughness. That is, was, and forever will be the Steeler way, and no change in defense or offense will ever change that.

I actually have high hopes for the next season. The thing the secondary did WAY better in the second half of the season was communicate. They got smart and got hungry and played pretty darn well down the stretch. Sure, there were lapses and issues here and there, but having Troy P and Ryan Clark back there for a few years makes it hard to remember what it is like when you just have a few "normal" guys.

 

On a completely separate note regarding our 1st Rounder, the MMQB posted a very cool look into the Dallas Cowboys war room and how Jerry Jones was DESPERATE to get Paxton Lynch. There is a portion of it where they describe how he literally called every team in the 20's and offered their 2nd and 3rd for early 20's picks and 2nd and 4th for late 20's picks. The Steelers got the call and didn't blink. They wanted Burns THAT BAD that they were given the option of two more picks and said "naw...we're good." To be fair, NO ONE actually wanted the offer, except Seattle who was playing a game of "who can give me best deal" with both them and Broncos.

Artie Burns - could have had a 2nd rounder and a 4th rounder for him. That's probably going to make me people angry, but I really don't care. If they were that convinced of his talent (and they turned in that card FAST), then I think we can all sit back and see what happens.

 

Artie Burns or no Artie Burns if I'm running the Steelers draft I'm not dropping from 1(25) to 2(3) for a 4th round pick.

 

Just finished watching some highlight clips of seventh round pick Demarcus Ayers. Looks much faster than his 40 time. I'm excited about him. Is the the next late round gem uncovered by the Steelers?

 

Artie Burns or no Artie Burns if I'm running the Steelers draft I'm not dropping from 1(25) to 2(3) for a 4th round pick.[/quote]

How about a third rounder dropping to the 1(31) with the Broncos. Boston college safety Simmons was available bottom of the third amongst others.

 

He wouldn't have been there,
Jerry Jones wanted Paxton.

 

I know I expressed disappointment in Burns but I'm terrible at predicting good CB's.
As most of you know I wanted Curtis Brown in the 2nD round and we know how that turned out. :rolleyes:

 

Interestingly enough, if you believe in the Draft Trade Chart, the steelers and Cowboys could have made essentially the most even trade you'd ever see in a draft with the Cowboys giving up their 2, 3, 4 for the steelers 1, 3, 4. That value for this year is near dead even (3 point differential), but it's not sexy at all. It wouldn't have made me jump up and down and want to trade back.

 

Hargrave is big fast and strong but, but he's a project and will take some time to develop.....Davis in the 2nd round will play safety while Burns could start at corner. There could also be a couple gems in the later rounds but will take time to develop......

 

I agree, I would want an extra pick out of the trade. The only trade I would have been interested in was the apparent Broncos one getting their 3rd round pick. I know burns wouldn't have been there at 31 but there was other corners available on day two like Kyle fuller. In this scenario would could have took spence in round one, fuller in round 2 and Hargrave and Simmons in round three. I personally would have preferred that option but time will tell. I'm not having a pop at what the steelers did tho, if burns is their guy I'm good with that and trust their judgement. Like breed I'm not good at evaluating corners, to me they are the hardest to figure out.

 

That's a little more palatable because you still get the 5 year contract.

 

Me too. I've basically given up.

 

i now this is sort of a left hand turn but i was looking at Feeney

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2011/profiles/travis-feeney?id=2555298

i dawned on me this kid is actually 2" taller and the same wt. as Km Chancellor, with what appears to be the same bad intentions upon tackle. Does this open another door for him at safety ? possible LB, safety and ST sound right ? 4.5 sec forty is ridiculous !

 

I don't think they'll move this kid to safety, I really think this kid would be a good weak side LB, which would be a replacement for Timmons. Add a good 15/20 lbs and he would be solid. He's got the frame to grow a little bit.

They did say he'll be in with the OLB's. We just found out JJ's 5th year option was declined, so he'll be a FA next so will Moats and this will be Harrison's last year also. Next year we are all of a sudden really thin at that position once again.

 

They need to do something about that, as well as make sure there are enough running backs, linemen who can play guard, and defensive linemen. They could have drafted three defensive linemen without issue from me, so they really need to work harder on replenishing depth.

 

They only had 7 picks. They didn't double dip at ANY position because they are trying to replenish a little at a time.

That being said, I am A LITTLE worried about the OLB depth in 2017. With Jones PROBABLY not coming back, Harrison retiring, and Moates not technically under contract, they are basically going to lose the corp group. This is why I think they should try and sign Jones to a REASONABLE extension (5-6M a year) and then they have experience and depth at a key position. They will also be able to draft some young bucks to come in and fix it, but I do not have faith in the 6th round OLB's they have drafted in the past couple of years to really make a difference.

Maybe I am wrong and Chickillo is going to blow it up this year, but I have a few concerns.

 

They don't need the typical 3-4 OLB anymore, so losing Jones won't hurt.
Timmons on one side, Williams on the other with Shazier in the middle.
Plenty of backups.
Tampa2!

 

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/will-monday?id=2555153

off the wall, i know but i looked in to this kid's stuff and he has some stuff to look in to... nice p/u if we can make some hay on defense because of consistently good punting...

i know, i know, see whoever in September @=

 

With a player like Dupree they can bump him up to DE or drop him back as an OLB. They will still have flexibility even if Jones doesn't earn a second contract with the Steelers.

The Steelers haven't done anything with Timmons contract yet and it won't surprise me if they let him play it out and offer him a fair 2-3 year contract after this season if he shows he's got a few years left in him.

I hope the Freeny kid turns into something but I'm not going to get to excited. I am pretty sure I read he's already had four shoulder surgeries. He might have the physical skills to play but not the durability to endure the NFL.