UPDATE: Keenan Lewis Likes Contract Talks So Far

[BlastFurnace]

Tweet from Alan Robinson (@arobinson_Trib)
Alan Robinson (@arobinson_Trib) tweeted at 0:30 PM on Tue, Jan 01, 2013:

Keenan Lewis plans to test free agency. He told #Steelers "they made a mistake" by not offering multi-year deal before 2012 season.

(https://twitter.com/arobinson_Trib/status/286177536143159296)

Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download

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Will cost 10.6 Million to franchise him. $10.3 to franchise Wallace.

[SteelerFanInStl]

Great. Looks like CB may be a draft priority after all.

BTW, the Steelers didn't "make a mistake" by not offering him a deal before 2012 because before 2012 he never showed that he was capable of being a starting CB in the NFL.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Great. Looks like CB may be a draft priority after all.

BTW, the Steelers didn't "make a mistake" by not offering him a deal before 2012 because before 2012 he never showed that he was capable of being a starting CB in the NFL.

well then this is where the antonio brown argument comes in. we signed antonio brown to a big contract after 1 productive season where he started only 3 games but played lot of "starter" snaps. Everyone thought the contract was such a bargain because the train of thought is that brown will play way better than the amount in his contract extension. Lewis was kind of in the same boat as a nickel corner. He actually started a game. And as with all nickel corners in the league, the 3rd corner plays a ton of snaps anyways. And i think almost all steeler fans can agree he played some damn good ball last season.

kinda can see where keenan is coming from. especially when he saw what kind of dough brown got.

[XxKnightxX]

Hahaha, sorry man, you were a nobody before this season. you couldnt beat out Willie Gay for a starter role.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Hahaha, sorry man, you were a nobody before this season. you couldnt beat out Willie Gay for a starter role.

gay played really well last season. i dont know how youre going to argue that but good luck.

[zulater]

well then this is where the antonio brown argument comes in. we signed antonio brown to a big contract after 1 productive season where he started only 3 games but played lot of "starter" snaps. Everyone thought the contract was such a bargain because the train of thought is that brown will play way better than the amount in his contract extension. Lewis was kind of in the same boat as a nickel corner. He actually started a game. And as with all nickel corners in the league, the 3rd corner plays a ton of snaps anyways. And i think almost all steeler fans can agree he played some damn good ball last season.

kinda can see where keenan is coming from. especially when he saw what kind of dough brown got.

. Bascially you just want to sit here and say; "I told you so, I told you so, " 100 times over like a bratty litty sister, trying to draw paralells that don't come close to existing.

Wallace, Brown, and Lewis all are and were completely different situations and thus we view them all differently. You need to learn this little word called nuance before you go sneering down at other's opinions as if your's is the only reasonable view in the room. Because I got a clue for you, it's not and you're little ooh oooh ooh displays are growing tiresome. ( is this where the obligitory lol should go?) lol

Personally I think Lewis should have been more tactfull in his after season comments so if he does somehow end up staying ( likely he wont with the emotion he's currently expressing) it wont come back and haunt him..

But in the end whether he stays or goes I at least respect the fact that Lewis left after season concerns to after the season, and perhaps if anything used his impending free agency to spur his play onto greater heights.

Which had Wallace done ( used free agency to take his game to a higher level) there'd currently be a great deal more respect on these forums for him. .

[Psycho Ward 86]

. Bascially you just want to sit here and say; "I told you so, I told you so, " 100 times over like a bratty litty sister, trying to draw paralells that don't come close to being true.

Wallace, Brown, and Lewis all are and were completely different situations and thus we view them all differently. You need to learn this little word called nuance before you go sneering down at other's opnions as if your's is the only reasonable view in the room. Because I got a clue for you, it's not and you're little ooh oooh ooh displays are growing tiresome.

Personally I think Lewis should have been more tactfull in his after season comments so if he does somehow end up staying ( likely he wont with the emotion he's currently expressing) it wont come back and haunt him..

But in the end whether he stays or goes I at least respect the fact that Lewis left after season concerns to after the season, and perhaps if anything used his impending free agency to spur his play onto greater heights.

Which had Wallace done ( used free agency to take his game to a higher level) there'd currently be a great deal more respect on these forums for him. .

what does wallace have anything to do with this? i thought theyre all in completely different situations :rolleyes:. valiant effort to downplay anything i say but with zero evidence and lots of speculation. dont let it frustrate you if youre opinion is proven wrong, or if youre not even wrong and someone just disagrees with you :)

[zulater]

what does wallace have anything to do with this? i thought theyre all in completely different situations :rolleyes:. valiant effort to downplay anything i say but with zero evidence and lots of speculation. dont let it frustrate you if youre opinion is proven wrong, or if youre not even wrong and someone just disagrees with you :)

And wtf does Brown have to do with Lewis then? Brown was team MVP in 2011. guess you missed that?

Whatever, you've introduced into other threads, and your'e following form here.

The fact is Lewis' situation will will prove you wrong here. Because we do in fact respect players right to free agency after they've produced and after the season is over.

[GBMelBlount]

Lewis nor Wallace is worth 10 mil.

Offer Lewis what he is worth and increase CB priority in the draft.

We should be focusing on the defense this draft anyway.

[BlastFurnace]

I'd like to see the Steelers look at extending Allen this offseason if they let Keenan go.

It's frustrating to have a player for 4 years and see him blossom his last year and, by his play, price himself out of our market.

[SteelerFanInStl]

Will cost 10.6 Million to franchise him. $10.3 to franchise Wallace.

Neither is worth that kind of money.

[steelreserve]

Didn't have enough to go on with Lewis to offer him any significant deal. He stepped it up in his contract year, so good for him, he earned himself a lot of money. I don't see any reason for either him or the team to be butthurt over the situation. Wallace is another story.

What probably happens is we offer him something like $4-$5M a year, which is what's about right for a pretty-good CB as well as probably the most we can afford right now ... he turns it down, if only to see what others will offer, and is snapped up immediately by someone who offers $6M or $7M. Unfortunate, but the most likely situation I can see unfolding.

[X-Terminator]

This is where the salary cap really hurts the Steelers, because now they're going to end up losing good, young talent because they have so much cap space tied up in older players. Maybe Omar Khan isn't quite the genius that we all think he is when it comes to the cap. There should be no reason why they should have to lose Lewis. As much as I hate to say it, they should look at what the Patriots* do, because every year they end up having a ton of cap space even though they are always competitive.

[salamander]

This is where the salary cap really hurts the Steelers, because now they're going to end up losing good, young talent because they have so much cap space tied up in older players. Maybe Omar Khan isn't quite the genius that we all think he is when it comes to the cap. There should be no reason why they should have to lose Lewis. As much as I hate to say it, they should look at what the Patriots* do, because every year they end up having a ton of cap space even though they are always competitive.

Sometimes I think they have too much faith in older players.

[Craic]

I remember a few years ago when they signed all the older players - the idea was that they had the window to go to more SBs, so they took it, knowing that the crunch would come in a few years. We're now in the middle of it. It's not that bad in comparison to the Salary cap hell other teams end up going through.

[BlastFurnace]

This is where the salary cap really hurts the Steelers, because now they're going to end up losing good, young talent because they have so much cap space tied up in older players. Maybe Omar Khan isn't quite the genius that we all think he is when it comes to the cap. There should be no reason why they should have to lose Lewis. As much as I hate to say it, they should look at what the Patriots* do, because every year they end up having a ton of cap space even though they are always competitive.

Great Post! This team, especially on defense, can't seem to turn the page when necessary.

[blackngldblood]

When i saw that the Steelers would have an opportunity to go into 2013 with three good corners i thought to myself that it was too good to be true. Yeah, he'll probably leave, and go play for a defense where we will never hear from him again, like Gay. He will pass up the opportunity to stay in Pitt for less money and play his career for a top 10 defense year in and year out. It's a shame, really. When you have a ball hawk in the making behind him in Cortez Allen, i'm not gonna sweat it too much.

Would love, LOVE to have him back, but such is life. I think i've heard that somewhere before, lol. If i'm not mistaken, didn't Allen take the lead in turnovers for this team in the last two games of the season? Arrow pointed up? you betcha! I can guarantee you that even if Lewis leaves, somewhere deep down he will regret it, knowing he passed up the potential of becoming a house hold name over money, ciest la vie.

[salamander]

When i saw that the Steelers would have an opportunity to go into 2013 with three good corners i thought to myself that it was too good to be true. Yeah, he'll probably leave, and go play for a defense where we will never hear from him again, like Gay. He will pass up the opportunity to stay in Pitt for less money and play his career for a top 10 defense year in and year out. It's a shame, really. When you have a ball hawk in the making behind him in Cortez Allen, i'm not gonna sweat it too much.

Would love, LOVE to have him back, but such is life. I think i've heard that somewhere before, lol. If i'm not mistaken, didn't Allen take the lead in turnovers for this team in the last two games of the season? Arrow pointed up? you betcha! I can guarantee you that even if Lewis leaves, somewhere deep down he will regret it, knowing he passed up the potential of becoming a house hold name over money, ciest la vie.

We have an emoticon for that. :chuckle:

:tomlinism:

[blackngldblood]

haha! thanks, i'm new here.

[salamander]

haha! thanks, i'm new here.

No problem! And welcome to the Universe! :thumbsup:

[zulater]

I remember a few years ago when they signed all the older players - the idea was that they had the window to go to more SBs, so they took it, knowing that the crunch would come in a few years. We're now in the middle of it. It's not that bad in comparison to the Salary cap hell other teams end up going through.

Good post Preacher. I think the Steelers did what was right at the time. But you always knew the potential was there that it would come back and bite you eventually. I got no problem with Omar and how he's down his job.

[KeiselPower99]

Lewis was on the verge of being a bust going into this season. Every opportunity he had he looked out of place and not sure he where his head was. If I had to choose going into 2012 to sign someone to an extension between Wallace Lewis and Brown, Ill take Brown. I really think Curtis Brown Cortez Allen and Josh Victorian are solid corners and we will be fine. We dont need to waste a high draft pick on a corner when we have more pressing needs.

[zulater]

While I'm a little bummed at the prospect of Lewis leaving after he proved himself to be an able starter, I'm also excited at the prospect of Cortez Allen being a full time starter next season, which probably doesn't happen if Keenan stays. I think Allens' upside is greater than Lewis's.

[steelreserve]

I remember a few years ago when they signed all the older players - the idea was that they had the window to go to more SBs, so they took it, knowing that the crunch would come in a few years. We're now in the middle of it. It's not that bad in comparison to the Salary cap hell other teams end up going through.

I think that's exactly what's going on. It's important to draft well in the meantime, cause that's the only way you're going to get any new talent. I hope they can work out some kind of franchise-and-trade deal with Wallace and at least get another pick out of it.


While I'm a little bummed at the prospect of Lewis leaving after he proved himself to be an able starter, I'm also excited at the prospect of Cortez Allen being a full time starter next season, which probably doesn't happen if Keenan stays. I think Allens' upside is greater than Lewis's.

Yeah, I'd be a lot more worried if Allen's lightbulb hadn't gone on at the end of the season. I hope we can get Lewis back, but if he commands $7M on the open market or anything, then we'll have to survive without him. Then CB depth becomes a priority (again) in the draft. I don't trust Brown or Victorian AT ALL.

Incidentally, I looked it up and saw that William Gay is on like a 2-year $3.2M contract with Arizona. We must've REALLY not wanted him, or he REALLY must have not wanted to stay here.

[Count Steeler]

haha! thanks, i'm new here.

Welcome aboard.

[NCSteeler]

If those comments are really his. , farewell. I would keep him at Ike money 4-5mil a ar. But that's it

[fansince'76]

Uh, the dude isn't exactly the second coming of Rod Woodson or Mel Blount. We'll manage without him.

[stillers4me]

Via Facebook about 10 minutes ago...

Keenan Lewis (http://www.facebook.com/lgkeenan)

I was misquoted by a reporter saying it was a mistake not to give me a contract last year. Try to make my image look bad, but here Wat it is, I'm not money greedy, I had my exit meeting today and it went great. I know we in the right direction as far as a contract, I believe strongly I would be apart of Steeler Nation next season. To do a three peat as the number one pass defense period. Here we go.

[Shoes]

Via Facebook about 10 minutes ago...

Keenan Lewis (http://www.facebook.com/lgkeenan)

I was misquoted by a reporter saying it was a mistake not to give me a contract last year. Try to make my image look bad, but here Wat it is, I'm not money greedy, I had my exit meeting today and it went great. I know we in the right direction as far as a contract, I believe strongly I would be apart of Steeler Nation next season. To do a three peat as the number one pass defense period. Here we go.


Thanks for that, Sue. Amazing...it's just like politics!

[Psycho Ward 86]

And wtf does Brown have to do with Lewis then?


just explained it but as usual everything i say goes over your head even though i dont drone without proof/explanation

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Via Facebook about 10 minutes ago...

Keenan Lewis (http://www.facebook.com/lgkeenan)

I was misquoted by a reporter saying it was a mistake not to give me a contract last year. Try to make my image look bad, but here Wat it is, I'm not money greedy, I had my exit meeting today and it went great. I know we in the right direction as far as a contract, I believe strongly I would be apart of Steeler Nation next season. To do a three peat as the number one pass defense period. Here we go.


whew. this is at least reassuring

[steelreserve]

Via Facebook about 10 minutes ago...

Keenan Lewis (http://www.facebook.com/lgkeenan)

I was misquoted by a reporter saying it was a mistake not to give me a contract last year. Try to make my image look bad, but here Wat it is, I'm not money greedy, I had my exit meeting today and it went great. I know we in the right direction as far as a contract, I believe strongly I would be apart of Steeler Nation next season. To do a three peat as the number one pass defense period. Here we go.


Well, that's much better.

... and see, everyone? THAT'S the kind of thing a guy says when he wants to stay with the team - not all the bullshit Wallace has been saying.

[BlastFurnace]

Here is Keenan's most recent tweet:

I just want to clear this up: I never said anything about @steelers making a mistake by not signing me last season. I love the Rooneys, Organization & fans. I only stayed that my agent will handle the contract talks.

[zulater]

just explained it but as usual everything i say goes over your head even though i dont drone without proof/explanation

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whew. this is at least reassuring

Nothing you say goes over my head. I understand everyfucking thing you say, I just don't agree with very much of it. :coffee:

[Psycho Ward 86]

This is where the salary cap really hurts the Steelers, because now they're going to end up losing good, young talent because they have so much cap space tied up in older players. Maybe Omar Khan isn't quite the genius that we all think he is when it comes to the cap. There should be no reason why they should have to lose Lewis. As much as I hate to say it, they should look at what the Patriots* do, because every year they end up having a ton of cap space even though they are always competitive.

right on the money. thats about as black and white as it gets folks. seems to me that as dominant as we have been on D, the complexity of dick lebeau's defense is both an advantage and disadvantage. An advantage in that obviously its deadly efficient, but a disadvantage in that its usually a long time before young players get to start because it takes them a long time to learn the defense. It puts us in a situation where aging veterans are sometimes Must-Re-signs because the young guns aren't ready to play, and that eats up some serious cap space.

seems the patriots dont have that problem on defense, where guys like jerod mayo, brandon spikes, chandler jones, and devin mccourty walk right in on day 1 and play pretty good D. On the other hand, their defense is just not as good as ours.

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Nothing you say goes over my head. I understand everyfucking thing you say, I just don't agree with very much of it. :coffee:

likewise, but its cool. i can respect your opinion

[zulater]

The main reason the Patriots don't seem to have problems on defense is because their offense is so dominant that other teams are generally forced to play from behind most of the game. I'm sure if we scored 30+ points a game our defense would force a lot more turnovers and get a lot more sacks.

Let them play every game within the same margins our defense is forced to and see how good they are.

[stillers4me]

Keenan is very appreciative of the support on his Facebook page and has always seemed very genuine and a really nice guy. He wanted to set the record straight. Hopefully, we'll see him next year because I was really impressed with his play this year. He has come along way. But, it is a business and these guys will do whats best for their families. Let's hope we are all happy whan it's all said and done.

[X-Terminator]

Ah yes, more of that wonderful "journalism" from the Pittsburgh media, trying to stir up the hornet's nest for ratings/hits. I should have known better. Good for Keenan to come out and set the record straight.

[zulater]

Keenan is very appreciative of the support on his Facebook page and has always seemed very genuine and a really nice guy. He wanted to set the record straight. Hopefully, we'll see him next year because I was really impressed with his play this year. He has come along way. But, it is a business and these guys will do whats best for their families. Let's hope we are all happy whan it's all said and done.


I'm glad he set the "record straight" even though I got a feeling the reporter who attributed those comments to him heard something very much resembling what was reported.

It will be interesting to see where things go with Keenan. On one hand he's come a long way this season and proved himself to be one of the bettter #2 corners in the league. On the other hand I'm not sure that Cortez Allen can be held back any longer, it seems to me that he has to start next year. So unless you're ready to move on without Ike Taylor, or can sell Ike on being next seasons nickel back I'm not sure if you retain Keenan?

[zulater]

Ah yes, more of that wonderful "journalism" from the Pittsburgh media, trying to stir up the hornet's nest for ratings/hits. I should have known better. Good for Keenan to come out and set the record straight.

.I don't know that Alan Robinson misreported anything. A lot of times athletes claim they were misquoted and it turns out what they said was on tape and was reported quite accurately.

It will be interesting to see if Alan Robinson will address Keenan's current position?

Until then I'm not going to throw darts at a guy who may have just been doing his job.

[X-Terminator]

.I don't know that Alan Robinson misreported anything. A lot of times athletes claim they were misquoted and it turns out what they said was on tape and was reported quite accurately.

It will be interesting to see if Alan Robinson will address Keenan's current position?

Until then I'm not going to throw darts at a guy who may have just been doing his job.

I am, because the Pittsburgh media has plenty of precedent to warrant it. They are terrible, and do nothing but try to create controversy rather than simply report the news.

[zulater]

I am, because the Pittsburgh media has plenty of precedent to warrant it. They are terrible, and do nothing but try to create controversy rather than simply report the news.

So what if he produces a tape to prove the accuracy of his reporting? Or what if it's verified by a second source that was standing there when Keenan made his comments?

I don't think these guys make comments out of thin air. In fact I don't think they could survive on the job if they made a habit out of lying.

Sorry but I think it's a lot more likely that a 27 year old athlete might pop off and say the wrong thing than a 60 year old journalist would just make it up. Way more often than not in just about every sport there is, in just about every city there is that's what proves to be the case in the end.

[Psycho Ward 86]

The main reason the Patriots don't seem to have problems on defense is because their offense is so dominant that other teams are generally forced to play from behind most of the game. I'm sure if we scored 30+ points a game our defense would force a lot more turnovers and get a lot more sacks.

Let them play every game within the same margins our defense is forced to and see how good they are.

holy shit we agree on something :lol:. really makes your jaw drop at the prospect that our defense could be even better if our offense actually got early leads. which it would be capable of if healthy

[X-Terminator]

So what if he produces a tape to prove the accuracy of his reporting? Or what if it's verified by a second source that was standing there when Keenan made his comments?

I don't think these guys make comments out of thin air. In fact I don't think they could survive on the job if they made a habit out of lying.

Sorry but I think it's a lot more likely that a 27 year old athlete might pop off and say the wrong thing than a 60 year old journalist would just make it up. Way more often than not in just about every sport there is, in just about every city there is that's what proves to be the case in the end.

Trust me when I tell you...he won't. We're talking about the same media types who manufactured controversy between Ben and Haley on more than one occasion and completely made up a story 2 years ago that the Pens' players were trying to get Sid ousted as captain when he was injured. The same media that employ morons like Ron Cook. The same media types who reported Bruce Arians being fired 2 years in a row, then reported that he would be retained last year, only to turn out to be dead wrong all 3 times. The same media who, in part, turned Terry Bradshaw against the city. And you expect me to give this guy the benefit of the doubt? Not a chance.

[zulater]

Trust me when I tell you...he won't. We're talking about the same media types who manufactured controversy between Ben and Haley on more than one occasion and completely made up a story 2 years ago that the Pens' players were trying to get Sid ousted as captain when he was injured. The same media that employ morons like Ron Cook. The same media types who reported Bruce Arians being fired 2 years in a row, then reported that he would be retained last year, only to turn out to be dead wrong all 3 times. The same media who, in part, turned Terry Bradshaw against the city. And you expect me to give this guy the benefit of the doubt? Not a chance.

Trust me when I tell you that Alan Robinson has proved to be a very credible reporter in his 30 years on the job. Reading what he tweeted it looks as if what he reported was something that was relayed to him by someone in a position to have heard it.

Also those media types (which Robinson wasn't one of) probably had it right about Arians, just the Steelers changed their mind mid stream because of Ben intervention.

And Terry turned on the city because he was immature at the time.

[blackngldblood]

Trust me when I tell you that Alan Robinson has proved to be a very credible reporter in his 30 years on the job. Reading what he tweeted it looks as if what he reported was something that was relayed to him by someone in a position to have heard it.

Also those media types (which Robinson wasn't one of) probably had it right about Arians, just the Steelers changed their mind mid stream because of Ben intervention.

And Terry turned on the city because he was immature at the time.

it doesnt matter where you go, media are media, and they are trying to sell their stories. just as bad as car salesmen. whatever gets you to pay attention. we'll just have to wait and see what happens with Mr. Lewis in the FA.

[fansince'76]

it doesnt matter where you go, media are media, and they are trying to sell their stories. just as bad as car salesmen. whatever gets you to pay attention. we'll just have to wait and see what happens with Mr. Lewis in the FA.

Yep. The main problem with the media, especially in the Information Age is that they're all in a giant hurry to be the one to "scoop" a story at all costs, accuracy be damned. Verifying and corroborating a source before actually publishing a story? Right. Look how many times they screwed up the facts with the Sandy Hook tragedy.

[Shoes]

it doesnt matter where you go, media are media, and they are trying to sell their stories. just as bad as car salesmen. whatever gets you to pay attention. we'll just have to wait and see what happens with Mr. Lewis in the FA.


3rd post and I like you already.... :chuckle:

[X-Terminator]

Trust me when I tell you that Alan Robinson has proved to be a very credible reporter in his 30 years on the job. Reading what he tweeted it looks as if what he reported was something that was relayed to him by someone in a position to have heard it.

Also those media types (which Robinson wasn't one of) probably had it right about Arians, just the Steelers changed their mind mid stream because of Ben intervention.

And Terry turned on the city because he was immature at the time.

And yet, he violated the one rule as a journalist - he reported something without verification from someone who "overheard" something and relayed it to him.

Sorry, but that is shoddy journalism at its finest, done for no other reason than to get hits on his Twitter page. I don't care how credible he's been in the past.

If you want to excuse or justify that, you go right ahead. I'll just go by personal experience from being immersed in the local Pittsburgh media all of my life.


it doesnt matter where you go, media are media, and they are trying to sell their stories. just as bad as car salesmen. whatever gets you to pay attention. we'll just have to wait and see what happens with Mr. Lewis in the FA.

Exactly.

[zulater]

And yet, he violated the one rule as a journalist - he reported something without verification from someone who "overheard" something and relayed it to him.

Sorry, but that is shoddy journalism at its finest, done for no other reason than to get hits on his Twitter page. I don't care how credible he's been in the past.

If you want to excuse or justify that, you go right ahead. I'll just go by personal experience from being immersed in the local Pittsburgh media all of my life.



Exactly.


Athletes say things they shouldn't or wish they hadn't done all the time too, and quite often lie and claim they never said what they said. I'm not accusing anyone of shoddy jounalism until I see his responce to Keenan's denial.

[Seven]

well then this is where the antonio brown argument comes in. we signed antonio brown to a big contract after 1 productive season where he started only 3 games but played lot of "starter" snaps. Everyone thought the contract was such a bargain because the train of thought is that brown will play way better than the amount in his contract extension. Lewis was kind of in the same boat as a nickel corner. He actually started a game. And as with all nickel corners in the league, the 3rd corner plays a ton of snaps anyways. And i think almost all steeler fans can agree he played some damn good ball last season.

kinda can see where keenan is coming from. especially when he saw what kind of dough brown got.

Do we have to see this shit in every goddamn thread?

[Craic]

Do we have to see this shit in every goddamn thread?

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Congratulations.

You are now officially one of us. Just remember the rules, we're like the mafia. If it comes from outside the family we all have each other's back, especially if the name is LITP or 3 to be 4. :chuckle:


EDIT: Oh, and that's GREAT news about Lewis. I was a little bummed when I read that he was leaving, but this news literally put a smile on my face.

[LLT]

When i saw that the Steelers would have an opportunity to go into 2013 with three good corners i thought to myself that it was too good to be true. Yeah, he'll probably leave, and go play for a defense where we will never hear from him again, like Gay. He will pass up the opportunity to stay in Pitt for less money and play his career for a top 10 defense year in and year out. It's a shame, really. When you have a ball hawk in the making behind him in Cortez Allen, i'm not gonna sweat it too much.

Would love, LOVE to have him back, but such is life. I think i've heard that somewhere before, lol. If i'm not mistaken, didn't Allen take the lead in turnovers for this team in the last two games of the season? Arrow pointed up? you betcha! I can guarantee you that even if Lewis leaves, somewhere deep down he will regret it, knowing he passed up the potential of becoming a house hold name over money, ciest la vie.


You touched on the point that I was about to make. If we can retain Lewis at a fair market price, then by all means lets do it....a future tandem of Allen/Lewis is very attractive. BUT.....Cortez Allen is the more talented of the two. Lewis only edge on Allen is that he has been around long enough to know the system better, but there is absolutely no doubt that Cortez Allen has a higher ceiling.

A future with Allen/Lewis is something to hope for....but if he does go somewhere else, its not going to sink the ship.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Do we have to see this shit in every goddamn thread?

opposing viewpoint with proof/explanation? try not to lose it when you struggle to agree with people :)

[steelreserve]

When i saw that the Steelers would have an opportunity to go into 2013 with three good corners i thought to myself that it was too good to be true. Yeah, he'll probably leave, and go play for a defense where we will never hear from him again, like Gay. He will pass up the opportunity to stay in Pitt for less money and play his career for a top 10 defense year in and year out. It's a shame, really. When you have a ball hawk in the making behind him in Cortez Allen, i'm not gonna sweat it too much.

Would love, LOVE to have him back, but such is life. I think i've heard that somewhere before, lol. If i'm not mistaken, didn't Allen take the lead in turnovers for this team in the last two games of the season? Arrow pointed up? you betcha! I can guarantee you that even if Lewis leaves, somewhere deep down he will regret it, knowing he passed up the potential of becoming a house hold name over money, ciest la vie.

There's a good point in there: How many times do you see a guy leave the Steelers defense and go somewhere else, then struggle to adjust? It helps a lot to have other good players around you. I know this season our defense wasn't as dominant as in years past, but I'd still say we have fewer holes than 80% of the other teams in the league.

If the choice is sticking around in Pittsburgh and maybe getting a little less cash in the short term, but more likely having a good career that lasts longer, that's something to consider. If you look at our starting defenders over the past several years, quite a few of the veterans made it not only to a second but a third contract that was still paying well, and we've seen the contracts through to the end a lot more often than some teams. A guy like Lewis could hang around for close to a decade quietly raking in $5M, $6M a year as long as he can still play.

Compare that to some shitfuck team like the Raiders or the Dolphins where you sign a big contract, then get dumped after two years because the team decided to clean house after it went 4-12 or they fired the coach or both, so you're left with basically your signing bonus plus a couple years at $1.2M base salary because they loaded it with fake money at the end. It's worth thinking twice about.

[X-Terminator]

Athletes say things they shouldn't or wish they hadn't done all the time too, and quite often lie and claim they never said what they said. I'm not accusing anyone of shoddy jounalism until I see his responce to Keenan's denial.

Yeah, they do. But in this case, I am giving him the benefit of the doubt because I don't trust the local media. It sounds like you're just going to automatically accept whatever "explanation" that this reporter may give you, and that's fine. If you really believe that media types don't have ratings and hits in mind for everything they do, and won't misrepresent or misquote someone for that end, then I don't know what else to tell you.

[Seven]

Hopefully Lewis comes back. We really need him. I like Allen, but this rings a little bit of the McFadden/Gay situation a few years ago to me. Just because we saw Allen play well in some limited time I wouldn't feel comfortable going into next season with him as a starter. For the first time in a long time we have two very good corners. Lets move some money around and pay the guy. Should be top priority of the offseason in my opinion.


opposing viewpoint with proof/explanation? try not to lose it when you struggle to agree with people :)

It's fucking annoying to come into a thread about Keenan Lewis and have to read a paragraph of the same bullshit about Antonio Brown that I've read over and over again in just about every other thread on this board. You seize every possible opportunity to spew the same garbage even when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Give it a rest. Or at least learn to make some generalizations. You make a decent point in general about bad contracts coming back to bite us in the ass but it gets lost in the smegma of Brown hate and makes your post totally insufferable.

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Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Congratulations.

You are now officially one of us. Just remember the rules, we're like the mafia. If it comes from outside the family we all have each other's back, especially if the name is LITP or 3 to be 4. :chuckle:


:chuckle:

I didn't get the bolded reference. But I'm familiar with LITP.

[steelreserve]

Yeah, they do. But in this case, I am giving him the benefit of the doubt because I don't trust the local media. It sounds like you're just going to automatically accept whatever "explanation" that this reporter may give you, and that's fine. If you really believe that media types don't have ratings and hits in mind for everything they do, and won't misrepresent or misquote someone for that end, then I don't know what else to tell you.

Basically, anything reported on Twitter should get an automatic -50% credibility hit until it's followed up by something a bit more real. It's about as accurate as TMZ.

Actually, TMZ (sadly) is much more accurate.

[Steeldude]

Remember when players loved to play football?

[LLT]

opposing viewpoint with proof/explanation? try not to lose it when you struggle to agree with people :)

Stay on topic.... please.

[zulater]

Here's a thought. Perhaps the Steelers should make a strong attempt to retain Lewis, perhaps going as far as to use the franchise tag on him and cut Ike Taylor?

You want to get younger on defense and be set at corner for the next 3-5 years, maybe that's the path to take. How many more years of high end football does Ike have? That's something that at least has to be considered.

[Austin87]

Here's a thought. Perhaps the Steelers should make a strong attempt to retain Lewis, perhaps going as far as to use the franchise tag on him and cut Ike Taylor?

You want to get younger on defense and be set at corner for the next 3-5 years, maybe that's the path to take. How many more years of high end football does Ike have? That's something that at least has to be considered.

What will the cap ramifications be if they cut Ike? I agree that it has to be considered, only problem is that I think Ike is twice the corner that Lewis is.

[LLT]

Here's a thought. Perhaps the Steelers should make a strong attempt to retain Lewis, perhaps going as far as to use the franchise tag on him and cut Ike Taylor?

You want to get younger on defense and be set at corner for the next 3-5 years, maybe that's the path to take. How many more years of high end football does Ike have? That's something that at least has to be considered.

You're right that it needs to be considered....

It wont happen, but like a lot of fans...I'm ready for a youth movement on our defense.

[X-Terminator]

You're right that it needs to be considered....

It wont happen, but like a lot of fans...I'm ready for a youth movement on our defense.

I'm ready for a youth movement on defense too. The question is will the fans be willing to accept possible mediocre play from the D while they make the transition? History says no, but we'll see.

[NCSteeler]

I like youth but at this point Ike still has some really good football in him. I still believe he's our best corner, if they are that happy with Allen, lewis...sign lewis trade ike for some real value, BUT it is a passing league and having 3-4 good corners or a corner that can play safety when needed is a great problem to have.

Hell, if we were to play the Pats, I would want to see Ike playing Gronk straight up with the occasional Timmons mixed in.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Hopefully Lewis comes back. We really need him. I like Allen, but this rings a little bit of the McFadden/Gay situation a few years ago to me. Just because we saw Allen play well in some limited time I wouldn't feel comfortable going into next season with him as a starter. For the first time in a long time we have two very good corners. Lets move some money around and pay the guy. Should be top priority of the offseason in my opinion.



It's fucking annoying to come into a thread about Keenan Lewis and have to read a paragraph of the same bullshit about Antonio Brown that I've read over and over again in just about every other thread on this board. You seize every possible opportunity to spew the same garbage even when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Give it a rest. Or at least learn to make some generalizations. You make a decent point in general about bad contracts coming back to bite us in the ass but it gets lost in the smegma of Brown hate and makes your post totally insufferable.

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:chuckle:

I didn't get the bolded reference. But I'm familiar with LITP.

its perfectly on topic and i explained why. it is not a hate post and they were definitely generalizations as you said. not sure why it would come across that way. perhaps your indulgence for a single player causes you to be overly sensitive to any neutral/negative mention of that single player? antonio brown is my favorite wide receiver on the team...all i did was compare 2 player's situations, to explain why i think i understand where keenan is coming from regarding "we made a mistake to not try to sign him to an extension yet" but it sure looks like he wants to be back now

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Hopefully Lewis comes back. We really need him. I like Allen, but this rings a little bit of the McFadden/Gay situation a few years ago to me. Just because we saw Allen play well in some limited time I wouldn't feel comfortable going into next season with him as a starter. For the first time in a long time we have two very good corners. Lets move some money around and pay the guy. Should be top priority of the offseason in my opinion.



It's fucking annoying to come into a thread about Keenan Lewis and have to read a paragraph of the same bullshit about Antonio Brown that I've read over and over again in just about every other thread on this board. You seize every possible opportunity to spew the same garbage even when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Give it a rest. Or at least learn to make some generalizations. You make a decent point in general about bad contracts coming back to bite us in the ass but it gets lost in the smegma of Brown hate and makes your post totally insufferable.

- - - Updated - - -



:chuckle:

I didn't get the bolded reference. But I'm familiar with LITP.

its perfectly on topic and i explained why. it is not a hate post and they were definitely generalizations as you said. not sure why it would come across that way. perhaps your indulgence for a single player causes you to be overly sensitive to any neutral/negative mention of that single player? antonio brown is my favorite wide receiver on the team...all i did was compare 2 player's situations, to explain why i think i understand where keenan is coming from regarding "we made a mistake to not try to sign him to an extension yet" but it sure looks like he wants to be back now

[zulater]

Mark Kaboly :Who does Will Allen believe had a "significant impact" on the Steelers secondary this year?

http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh-steelers/f/54bd0e12-b2a3-451b-ad0f-2d847c41e21f/?source=twitter


Steelers safety Will Allen addressed the media following his exit interview http://blog.triblive.c... on Wednesday and noted that Carnell Lake had a significant impact on the success of the secondary this year.

"He prepares the group very well, and he believes a lot in technique," Allen said. "He doesn't necessarily harp on defensive schematics, but he works us hard on technique. So, that helps us tremendously. You can see that in our corner play along, over the years, and how much it has improved. The level has been a lot improved. The same with the safety, covering, tackling, more attention to details. He stresses that stuff all the time.”

The Steelers finished No. 1 against the pass both years Lake has been the secondary coach. 4 minutes ago

[NJarhead]

gay played really well last season. i dont know how youre going to argue that but good luck.
Gays coverage was usually pretty good, but he had habit of watching the ball land in the receivers hands rather than breaking it up.

[zulater]

its perfectly on topic and i explained why. it is not a hate post and they were definitely generalizations as you said. not sure why it would come across that way. perhaps your indulgence for a single player causes you to be overly sensitive to any neutral/negative mention of that single player? antonio brown is my favorite wide receiver on the team...all i did was compare 2 player's situations, to explain why i think i understand where keenan is coming from regarding "we made a mistake to not try to sign him to an extension yet" but it sure looks like he wants to be back now



I can't speak for 7, but as for me Antonio Brown is not my favorite Steeler. Heath Miller is my favorite, Ben is my second favorite, James Harrison, 3rd, and then it's a 48 way tie for 4th. Then Mike wallace.


:heh:

[steelreserve]

What will the cap ramifications be if they cut Ike? I agree that it has to be considered, only problem is that I think Ike is twice the corner that Lewis is.

Cutting Taylor would have pretty bad cap consequences. They restructured his deal last season and basically converted his entire salary to a signing bonus, which would all count against the cap next year if we cut him (plus whatever is left of his original signing bonus). I think we'd end up with something like $7M in dead money. On the other hand, thanks to that same restructure, his cap charge next year if we keep him is $9.5M ($6M base plus half the prorated bonus).

Bottom line is I think we keep him, because for the $2.5M we'd save, it's a lot more valuable to have him as a player. When it gets to next year and his cap number will be more like $10M versus $3.5M in dead money, that changes the game a lot and I think we'll see him reduced/restructured/cut.

[NJarhead]

I can't speak for 7, but as for me Antonio Brown is not my favorite Steeler. Heath Miller is my favorite, Ben is my second favorite, James Harrison, 3rd, and then it's a 48 way tie for 4th. Then Mike wallace.


:heh:

If you dont mind my butting in, for me it's:
1 - Heath
2 - Timmons
3 - Ryan Clark or Max Starks

[steelreserve]

If you dont mind my butting in, for me it's:
1 - Heath
2 - Timmons
3 - Ryan Clark or Max Starks

For some reason, you reminded me of the time that I was fortunate enough to meet Timmons. In the maybe 30 seconds I talked to him, the main thing I remember was that he was wearing a really nice suit-and-vest outfit and was completely covered in dog hair. I still chuckle about that when I remember it. Seemed like a real nice guy, though.

[NJarhead]

For some reason, you reminded me of the time that I was fortunate enough to meet Timmons. In the maybe 30 seconds I talked to him, the main thing I remember was that he was wearing a really nice suit-and-vest outfit and was completely covered in dog hair. I still chuckle about that when I remember it. Seemed like a real nice guy, though.

Dog lover, eh? Nothing wrong with that! haha

[zulater]

On the Steelers: Lewis wants 'starter money'

Cornerback is unrestricted free agent, says he would like to stay


One season, two very different sets of circumstances for two high school teammates who came to the Steelers in 2009.
Mike Wallace was a bona fide star, a Pro Bowl receiver in 2011 offered tens of millions of dollars by the team he turned down in 2012. Keenan Lewis reached nickel back status in his third season, playing only in passing situations. The team offered him nothing but the required one-year tender as a restricted free agent in 2012.
Today, they are poised to become unrestricted free agents, and Lewis might even find himself in as good a position as his former classmate at Perry Walker High School in New Orleans. Lewis went from obscure backup cornerback to having such a good season in his first as a starter that he should be among the top handful of cornerbacks available in the 2013 free-agent market that opens March 12.
Lewis played for $1.26 million last season, a middle tender from the Steelers compared to a top tender of $2.7 million Wallace earned. Some team could have signed Lewis as a restricted free agent and given the Steelers a third-round pick as compensation. No one offered him a multiple-year contract to stay or leave, not the way the Steelers did with Wallace. Lewis is OK with that because he would not have attracted the kind of deal he will this year.
"I didn't want a contract in 2012," Lewis said Wednesday from his New Orleans home. "I was just a nickel back. I probably would have told them to hold up on the contract anyway because I wanted to really establish myself as a starting cornerback.
"I didn't want nickel-back money, I wanted starter money."
Lewis left his exit interview with coach Mike Tomlin on New Year's Day feeling good about the team's desire to sign him to a new contract.
"I'm hoping they do something so I can get back," said Lewis, who led the NFL in passes defensed. "They said they wanted me to come back."


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/on-the-steelers-lewis-wants-starter-money-668741/#ixzz2Gua92cFW

[vader29]

Ed Bouchette‏@EdBouchette

What are the chances #Steelers can keep either/both Mike Wallace and Keenan Lewis?

They would like both of them back, but how much they are willing to pay them – or can pay them – because of their salary cap issues may prevent them from signing either. Teams who need a speed receiver will still covet Wallace despite his somewhat disappointing 2012 season. Those who need a cornerback will look at the play of Lewis and offer him a top deal.
The Steelers could put the franchise or transition tag on each. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the salary cap in 2013 will be around $121 million and the projected franchise number for wide receivers will be $10.357 million, the transition salary $8.716. The franchise money for cornerbacks will be $10.668 million and the transition salary $8.939.

[steeldawg]

well then this is where the antonio brown argument comes in. we signed antonio brown to a big contract after 1 productive season where he started only 3 games but played lot of "starter" snaps. Everyone thought the contract was such a bargain because the train of thought is that brown will play way better than the amount in his contract extension. Lewis was kind of in the same boat as a nickel corner. He actually started a game. And as with all nickel corners in the league, the 3rd corner plays a ton of snaps anyways. And i think almost all steeler fans can agree he played some damn good ball last season.

kinda can see where keenan is coming from. especially when he saw what kind of dough brown got.

This is exactly right, and the antonio contract is more than relevant to future contracts because you set a precedent as an organization for what it takes to get a big deal.

[Craic]

I have no problem with him making "starter" money because he's a starting CB going forward. Don't know what the salary will be, but if the Steelers are smart (and they are), they'll sign him long term, stretch the money out with easy to hit bonuses and a decent signing bonus, then back fill the rest of it.

[steelreserve]

I have no problem with him making "starter" money because he's a starting CB going forward. Don't know what the salary will be, but if the Steelers are smart (and they are), they'll sign him long term, stretch the money out with easy to hit bonuses and a decent signing bonus, then back fill the rest of it.

Basically give him a little less that market value for the first year or two, then start giving him some of Taylor's money when that big cap hit goes away. That might just be crazy enough to work.

I mean within reason, by the way. If "starter money" means $8M a year, I just don't think we can afford that at this point.

[Craic]

Basically give him a little less that market value for the first year or two, then start giving him some of Taylor's money when that big cap hit goes away. That might just be crazy enough to work.

I mean within reason, by the way. If "starter money" means $8M a year, I just don't think we can afford that at this point.

I agree with you. Then again, here's another question. Who, long term, is worth more to this team right now, Lewis, or Troy P.? I know Troy P. is more talented. That's a given. But he's been on the bench so much the last few years, and we've had another safety come in and play the position very well. So, the question is, would you rather lose Lewis now, or if you didn't have a choice cap-wise, would your rather lose Troy P. now.

Honestly, as much as I love Troy's way of playing, I gotta say him. I just don't see him in the league for years from now.

[Psycho Ward 86]

with the rapid rate at which contracts are increasing in value the past decade, it makes you wonder if the nfl free agency is going to hit stagflation at some point in the near future. hope keenan gets a deal with no growing pains. seems so rare that we lose any young emerging talent around here

[steelreserve]

I agree with you. Then again, here's another question. Who, long term, is worth more to this team right now, Lewis, or Troy P.? I know Troy P. is more talented. That's a given. But he's been on the bench so much the last few years, and we've had another safety come in and play the position very well. So, the question is, would you rather lose Lewis now, or if you didn't have a choice cap-wise, would your rather lose Troy P. now.

Honestly, as much as I love Troy's way of playing, I gotta say him. I just don't see him in the league for years from now.

I probably would have agreed with you for most of the season. But I do think the potential upside of having Troy around at a high level for, say, 2 more years, is so huge that you almost have to take that chance. Especially with nobody behind him who's more than average. With Lewis, it would suck to lose him, but we still have Allen and whoever we draft. You could be right. Counting on Troy being a cornerstone of the defense is a huge risk, but if we're going to win a Super Bowl in the next year or two, I think that's how it happens.

Just for grins, compare these two careers:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PolaTr99.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LottRo00.htm

Right now, Troy is at the exact same point in his career where people thought Ronnie Lott was done too - numbers way down, trouble staying healthy, not making enough impact for the money he commanded. Then he surprised everyone and came back kicking ass for three or four more years, albeit with a different team. I'll bet the 49ers wish they'd kept him, since they struggled to find an impact player at that position for a couple years until they signed Tim McDonald, who was probably about as good a replacement as you were going to find.

Point is, with guys who are one-of-a-kind players like this, you just can't tell when they've got nothing left unless they tell you themselves. The 2-3 games at the end of the season where Troy was near 100% may be a small sample size, but it still looked like he had that unmistakeable timing and instinct. I think we keep him until he tells us he can't do it anymore.

[steelreserve]

with the rapid rate at which contracts are increasing in value the past decade, it makes you wonder if the nfl free agency is going to hit stagflation at some point in the near future. hope keenan gets a deal with no growing pains. seems so rare that we lose any young emerging talent around here

I think we're already seeing that, only the effect is playing out a little differently. The contracts keep growing disproportionally regardless - but instead of reining in spending, the result is that teams just burn through their cap space more quickly and the big money all gets spent within the first 3-4 days of free agency. That's good news for guys like Wallace, and also why I think he'll be long gone by that time.

On the flipside, I think the other effect is that once the big money is gone, nearly every team is strapped for cap space, and all the role players and pretty-good-but-not-great veterans take whatever they can get. Overall, it probably hurts those guys' pay scale, but it's also the part of FA we can compete in, and how guys like Cotchery and Will Allen find their way to us.

Basically, if we don't re-sign them to a somewhat savvy extension before FA opens, we can't even compete for our own guys. We do seem to lose young DBs pretty regularly because frankly, their market value in FA is way inflated. They could probably shoehorn Lewis in if they backload his deal with some of the money that leaves with Harrison/Taylor/Polamalu in a couple years. If they think he'll be good enough, that is.

[GBMelBlount]

I'm ready for a youth movement on defense too. The question is will the fans be willing to accept possible mediocre play from the D while they make the transition? History says no, but we'll see.

Personally I don't expect much of a drop off....

Is there anyone who is really playing at a level where they are not expendable.

[GodfatherofSoul]

Probably went like this:

Reporter: "Do you think the Steelers should have offered you a contract last season?"
Lewis: "Sure, I would have liked an offer."
Reporter: hmmm, [scribble] Lewis says Steelers F-ed up majorly by not showing him the money...

[Craic]

Probably went like this:

Reporter: "Do you think the Steelers should have offered you a contract last season?"
Lewis: "Sure, I would have liked an offer."
Reporter: hmmm, [scribble] Lewis says Steelers F-ed up majorly by not showing him the money...

That's what happens when you use a "Quick-Quotes Quill."

[steeldevil]

That's what happens when you use a "Quick-Quotes Quill."

:lol: