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View Full Version : Steelers notebook: Gilbert determined to fill Starks' shoes at LT



stillers4me
07-28-2013, 09:21 AM
If consistency and a solid left tackle are necessities for a good offensive line, the Steelers had both last season with Max Starks.

A case easily could be made he was their best offensive lineman in 2012, even though center Maurkice Pouncey was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. What's more, Starks was the only offensive lineman to take every snap last season -- a rarity on a line that seems to be juggled annually because of injuries.

But Starks was part of a house-cleaning in an offseason that saw the Steelers get rid of three of their top six offensive linemen, leaving what is considered the most important position on the line to be handled by Marcus Gilbert, a second-round draft choice in 2011 who has played mostly on the right side.

Gilbert also is coming off a nasty ankle injury in which the tendon tore away from the bone...............


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-notebook-gilbert-determined-to-fill-starks-shoes-at-lt-697216/#ixzz2aLlD0TYt

st33lersguy
07-28-2013, 10:43 AM
Well, Steeler nation is waiting for you to break out, Ben needs as much protection as possible

tube517
07-29-2013, 06:36 AM
Well, Steeler nation is waiting for you to break out, Ben needs as much protection as possible

Using "break" in a thread about Gilbert is dangerous. The man is a human accident machine. :lol:

steelreserve
07-29-2013, 12:23 PM
That's great - just DON'T INJURE SO MANY PEOPLE this year.

Dwinsgames
07-29-2013, 12:51 PM
its a lot to ask IMO .

he was a pretty good RT when he was healthy enough to play , I realize he was a LT as a collegiate but he was not a great LT and that was a lower level of talent than the NFL ....

I honestly believe Adams should be on the left ( he was a better LT in College ) thus not as large of step as with Gilbert ... but hey they are getting paid the big bucks to make those kind of choices and I am not ...

Chidi29
07-29-2013, 02:36 PM
Disagree Dwins. Gilbert is a little soft but much better laterally. Adams is the better run blocker. They're good where they're at now.

Dwinsgames
07-29-2013, 02:55 PM
Disagree Dwins. Gilbert is a little soft but much better laterally. Adams is the better run blocker. They're good where they're at now.

agree to disagree . yes Gilbert is more fleet of foot in the short area that I will give you ...but as an overall tackle Adam IMO is the superior player as well as the more physical tackle and on the left side I want my guy to be more physical than what he is facing ...

HollywoodSteel
07-29-2013, 03:09 PM
Do you know if Gilbert has worked on strength at all in the offseason? Seems to me that it's easier to get stronger after college than it is to get quicker. I'm just trying to be an optimist. I know I keep repeating myself on this but I think not signing Starks to a longer deal was a huge mistake and one I'm really hoping doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.

Dwinsgames
07-29-2013, 07:54 PM
Do you know if Gilbert has worked on strength at all in the offseason? Seems to me that it's easier to get stronger after college than it is to get quicker. I'm just trying to be an optimist. I know I keep repeating myself on this but I think not signing Starks to a longer deal was a huge mistake and one I'm really hoping doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.


I do not know , I am basing my opinions off of what I last saw in game play ...

could things have changed ? certainly ... did they ? I am clueless

Dwinsgames
08-04-2013, 01:17 PM
Disagree Dwins. Gilbert is a little soft but much better laterally. Adams is the better run blocker. They're good where they're at now.


looks like the coaching staff agrees with my evaluation ..


* Mike Adams (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980423) remained at left tackle and Marcus Gilbert (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980653) remained at right tackle Saturday in what appears to be a move that will stick. Some team sources even believe Kelvin Beachum (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980452) has a good chance to win the right tackle spot from Gilbert.

http://pit.scout.com/2/1312693.html

Chidi29
08-04-2013, 01:19 PM
looks like the coaching staff agrees with my evaluation ..



http://pit.scout.com/2/1312693.html

Tomlin's response to it?

“[It’s position flexibility]. We’re looking for the very best combination of people and that might even include within groups. Both guys [Adams and Gilbert] are left tackle capable, both guys were left tackles in college. We just want to provide an opportunity to show what those guys are capable of and find the best combination. …Read into it what you’ll read into it. If Ike Taylor was playing left corner than swapped to right corner, it’s about the same thing. I know we make more out of it than what it is. But it’s just that. “

Just have to wait and see.

Dwinsgames
08-04-2013, 01:35 PM
Tomlin's response to it?

“. We’re looking for the very best combination of people and that might even include within groups. Both guys [Adams and Gilbert] are left tackle capable, both guys were left tackles in college. We just want to provide an opportunity to show what those guys are capable of and find the best combination. …Read into it what you’ll read into it. If Ike Taylor was playing left corner than swapped to right corner, it’s about the same thing. I know we make more out of it than what it is. But it’s just that. “

Just have to wait and see.



its two fold ....


* [I]Mike Adams (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980423) remained at left tackle and Marcus Gilbert (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980653) remained at right tackle Saturday in what appears to be a move that will stick. Some team sources even believe Kelvin Beachum (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980452) has a good chance to win the right tackle spot from Gilbert.

Point is Gilbert may find himself as the teams top backup which is a double reduction in duty from starting LT IMO ....

it must be plenty clear to the author that Adams is playing superior football to Gilbert or he would not have written the red text above would he ?

it also must be a hell of a battle between Gilbert and Beachum for anyone in the organization say what was said .... sadly I am not there to witness this stuff for myself this year :(

Chidi29
08-04-2013, 01:39 PM
I really don' see Beachum getting a starting job. He needs to be a backup so he can fill in if (when) someone gets hurt. Bob Labriola put it well when he said he is the team's "sixth man".

All these guys move around in camp. You learn to play multiple spots so if an injury happens, you're not throwing someone into a position they haven't played before. So if (when) Gilbert gets nicked, they could move Adams to LT and Beachum to RT if they'd rather have Adams on Ben's blindside than Beachum. I'm not a big fan of moving more pieces around than you have to but that could be the mindset. All too early to tell.

Dwinsgames
08-04-2013, 02:13 PM
I really don' see Beachum getting a starting job. He needs to be a backup so he can fill in if (when) someone gets hurt. Bob Labriola put it well when he said he is the team's "sixth man".

All these guys move around in camp. You learn to play multiple spots so if an injury happens, you're not throwing someone into a position they haven't played before. So if (when) Gilbert gets nicked, they could move Adams to LT and Beachum to RT if they'd rather have Adams on Ben's blindside than Beachum. I'm not a big fan of moving more pieces around than you have to but that could be the mindset. All too early to tell.


see the bold ... I get it .. IF they where moving around , but that is not what the article states ...

Adams is firmly implanted at LT he is not moving to RT he has been strictly at LT .... Gilbert has been at RT he is not moving to LT .... Beachum and Gilbert are at this point battling for 1 starting job thus it must be a close competition that at least some within the organization believe Beachum has a chance to win .... no talk of people moving , only talk of people playing 1 spot and to quote them again
Mike Adams (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980423) remained at left tackle and Marcus Gilbert (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980653) remained at right tackle Saturday in what appears to be a move that will stick


and ...


Some team sources even believeKelvin Beachum (http://pit.scout.com/a.z?s=68&p=8&c=1&nid=6980452) has a good chance to win the right tackle spot from Gilbert.

Chidi29
08-04-2013, 02:24 PM
The article doesn't use anything to back up the claim that the move will "stick". Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but there's no evidence.

Dwinsgames
08-04-2013, 03:41 PM
The article doesn't use anything to back up the claim that the move will "stick". Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but there's no evidence.

no there isn't , except Jim Wexell is a pretty noteworthy Steelers Journalist that is pretty football savvy in knowing what he is looking at and since he is there and we are not it is all we really have to go on at this point ...

the words Remained at makes claims that is where they where the day or days prior ..... thus making it a trend ... trends that are working are not normally changed ..just sayin

Chidi29
08-04-2013, 03:44 PM
no there isn't , except Jim Wexell is a pretty noteworthy Steelers Journalist that is pretty football savvy in knowing what he is looking at and since he is there and we are not it is all we really have to go on at this point ...

the words Remained at makes claims that is where they where the day or days prior ..... thus making it a trend ... trends that are working are not normally changed ..just sayin

We can also go on Tomlin's words that I posted that said not to read much into it.

And if we're going to go with Wexell as the football savvy guy (which no doubt, he is), he tweeted this...

364077622482829313

Dwinsgames
08-04-2013, 03:48 PM
but some do ...

I just wish I could be there this year .....

I trust my eyes more than anyone's

Chidi29
08-04-2013, 03:52 PM
It's been what, two three practices? And Gilbert started the year at LT. Let's just wait and see before we make any final conclusions so soon. Besides, I never said that Gilbert couldn't be moved anyway. I just don't think he should. He's better suited to play LT. I still stand by that. No reason for the debate we're having in the first place.

Master Blaster
08-09-2013, 09:20 AM
Using "break" in a thread about Gilbert is dangerous. The man is a human accident machine. :lol:
You got that right, especially knowing that Gilbert ended first round draft pick, David DeCastro's season last year when he was driven back and fell onto DeCastro's leg.

86WARD
08-10-2013, 02:29 PM
The only knock on Adams is his spotty pass blocking. If he gets that worked out, he'll be dominating because his run blocking game is "there."

Gilbert's play is much more questionable than Adams play.

fansince'76
08-10-2013, 03:59 PM
Using "break" in a thread about Gilbert is dangerous. The man is a human accident machine. http://www.steelersuniverse.com/forums/images/smilies/lol.gif

You got that right, especially knowing that Gilbert ended first round draft pick, David DeCastro's season last year when he was driven back and fell onto DeCastro's leg.

Marcus Gilbert and the rest of our offensive line:

http://image.funscrape.com/images/b/bowling_ball_and_pins-532.gif

86WARD
08-16-2013, 10:25 AM
Starks looked good last night...lol. Rivers may be lucky he's alive this morning.

polamalubeast
08-16-2013, 10:26 AM
Starks looked good last night...lol. Rivers may be lucky he's alive this morning.

Starks was awful yesterday...ouch!

Psycho Ward 86
08-16-2013, 08:44 PM
looks like the coaching staff agrees with my evaluation ..



http://pit.scout.com/2/1312693.html

i always want to give you a pat on the back in all of these threads but looks like you always have that base covered :)

86WARD
08-17-2013, 08:45 PM
Starks was awful yesterday...ouch!

Turnstile-esque.

Psycho Ward 86
08-17-2013, 08:49 PM
Marcus Gilbert and the rest of our offensive line:

http://image.funscrape.com/images/b/bowling_ball_and_pins-532.gif

Accurate

katmandu
08-18-2013, 11:55 AM
The only knock on Adams is his spotty pass blocking......and his lack of a killer instinct (ie NASTINESS like Willie Colon has.).

Too soft IMHO.

We need a LT that has a nasty attitude!