My god the Steelers defense is pathetic...
- Thread starter BBrown
- Start date
Like that blueprint aside from round 3. Wasted pick. Need to let let Ben show some signs of slowing down then jump on the new future.
Out of their last 41 picks in the NFL draft (2011-2015), the Steelers have drafted 9 defensive backs....that's quite a few.
These guys SHOULD be in their prime playing years.
It ain't that they are not drafting them....its that none of the guys they have drafted have been any good.
Terrence Frederick - CB, Texas A&M
Curtis Brown - CB, Texas
Cortez Allen - CB, Citadel
Shamarko Thomas - S, Syracuse
Terry Hawthorne - CB, Illinois
Shaquille Richardson - CB, UCLA
Gerod Hollimon - S, Louisville
Doran Grant - CB, OSU
Senquez Golson - CB, Mississippi
Of the 9 DBs on their active roster....only ONE or TWO of them are from this group - Grant (I'm not sure if he has been "active" or not) and Thomas - and I don't think either of them get much playing time.
They have basically spent 9 draft picks for nothing.
The guys who play are a collection of free agents and cast-offs from other teams.
Jones played pretty well this year when Ben was out and Vick (having played abysmal) was injured. I thought Jones was a hopeless backup as well but he looked pretty decent and looks like he can win games in the short term if Ben is hurt. Ben is a top 5 QB so there will be a significant drop of no matter who the backup is. Yea, I'm hoping for at least 5 or 6 more years from Ben..... Now that the OL is better and still pretty young.
Gotta believe the Steelers will cut Vick this off season and either sign or draft another QB to compete with Jones to be the backup.
Don't forget that the "real" back-up is Bruce Gradkowski. He isn't great but in an NFL back-up QB you are looking for serviceable for a few games. Anybody that loses their QB for more than that is going to be out of it most likely anyway.
We can't pretend all draft choices are created equal. If those were all top 50 picks and none were panning out, then I'd say the Steelers have a scouting/development problem. However, here is where each of those guys were taken:
7th round (246th overall) - Terrence Frederick
3rd (95) - Curtis Brown
4th (128) - Cortez Allen
4th (111) - Shamarko Thomas
5th (150) - Terry Hawthorn
5th (157) - Shaquille Richardson
7th (239) - Gerod Hollimon
4th (121) - Doran Grant
And Golson can't be judged yet because he hasn't played yet due to an injury.
No team is going to put together a great secondary with 1 late 3rd rounder, 3 4th rounders, two 5ths and two 7ths. That's going to put together a secondary exactly like what the Steelers have. In all those years all those guys were taken, only two defensive backs who were chosen after the Steelers picked a DB ended up being pro bowlers. So it's not like they overlooked all these guys that went on to be great because they can't judge talent.
In 2011, the Steelers took Cam Heyward and Marcus Gilbert before going for DBs. If they hadn't taken them, they'd have huge holes on the DL and OL.
In 2012, they took David DeCastro and Mike Adams in the first two rounds. Again, building the OL that was the most glaring problem at the time. While Adams has missed this season, replacing these picks with DBs would again mean we'd just be complaining about OL today instead of secondary.
In 2013, they went with Jarvis Jones (bust), Le'Veon Bell and Marcus Wheaton before taking a DB. Hard to argue. Analysts all thought Jones was a great pick for the Steelers system, and Bell and Wheaton have proven good picks at positions of need at the time.
In 2014, they took Shazier, Tuitt, and Martavis Bryant instead of DBs.
So when you go back and look at who the top picks were for the Steelers, if you start taking them away to replace them with DBs, you're left with holes elsewhere. Now, they used a 2nd round pick last year on a corner, and they'll likely use 1st and/or 2nd round picks on DBs the next two years. And then the secondary will be good. But while focusing on that, another area will get old and become a weakness. And people will ask who has final say for that weakness, how could they possibly have let that area become so bad....
Heyward is the rock of the defense. Ohio state guy or not he's been outstanding this year. However Shazier has been a bust in my opinion. He is always hurt and the word is he's kind of a "wuss". Not sure if anyone saw this, but Butler basically called him one in an interview a few weeks ago. I believe he said that Shazier needs to learn to play hurt because everyone is hurt this time of year. Being hurt is different than being injured.
Well....
Their wideouts are a 3rd, 4th, and 6th round pick
The LBers are 2 1sts, a 6th, and a rookie free-agent
The offensive line is a 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 2 rookie free-agents.
etc etc
You need to acquire 5-9 contributors each year (between the draft and rookie free-agents)
You don't build a team with just "top 50" picks.
They've spent a lot more on DBs who have contributed nothing, than they have on WRs who may be as good as any group in the league. Now, maybe what they have done with wideouts is abnormally good (and, I think it has been)....but what they have done with DBs has certainly been abnormally bad.
Good info.
Their Wr's are interesting. It seems, at least to me anyway, that The Steelers have had much better luck at identifying the Wr's in the draft and then getting the max out of them and that includes different Head Coaches and OC's. Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace, Plaxico, Santonio Holmes, Randle El and Yancy Thigpen were all much more successful with the Steelers than they were anyone else. Sanders may end up being the exception to that though.
But I agree with you. A team cant expect to consistently build with top 10 picks. Its going to have to either get lucky or be good at identifying talent in the middle to later rounds. Something I always though Cowher and his staff were good at and something I dont think Tomlin and his group excel at.
What I saw was that in the 1st half, the DBs played soft, lining up 10 yds off the LOS/receivers, like Joe used to do with our DBs. In the 2nd half, they didn't give them that cushion and were much more successful.
For several years now, everyone has been predicting high draft picks used for secondary help. Every year, they resist doing it, with the exception of last year when they drafted an undersized corner in the 2nd round, who promptly injured a shoulder and never practiced a day after camp opened in late July. Their secondary has a few scrap heap guys drafted by other teams.
Do you mean the way Dick LeBeau did for all the years that the Steelers were the number one defense in the NFL?
Sorry, but it is nowhere near as simple as that. All 3 of Denver's passing TDs in the first half were with the Steelers rushing 4 and playing zone, but that only works if they actually COVER guys, which they did a piss poor job of in the first half and much better in the 2nd half. It also helped that with a 2 TD lead and Osweiler maybe not 100% Denver got conservative on offense.
Different week...same bullshit...a qb comes into the Ravens 12 days ago and lites this pathetic defense up...and I dont have 41 to blame
They are playing bad today, but overall this year they been a surprise. I think they given up the fewest redone touchdowns then anyone.
You must not have watched the game....Baltimore and its stupid penalties cost them a ton. Had Flacco played this would have been a laffer.
Nate...maybe..but the first dive of the game Mallet, who has only been on the team for a week, goes 88 yds and converts 4 3rd downs...all to wide open guys. 2nd drive he drives them the length of the field for 3 pts...then...after Ben throws a bad pick does the PBurgh d help him out...hell no...Mallet takes them 65 yds and converts a 2nd and 25....did you see the drive? There were wide open guys all over...sorry...this defense coouldn't gd me...they have a playoff caliber offense but on defense they are putrid.
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