Wheaton injured again

[GBMelBlount]

ugh.


Receiver Markus Wheaton suffered a fractured finger, which will be put in a splint and taped to the finger beside it

http://www.steelers.com/news/article...1-350f33e0bf89

[Dwinsgames]

hard to label him injury prone based on these sort of injuries but jimminy christmas this kid cant get on or stay on the field to save his life and it will be tough to pencil him in to replace sanders as a starter in 2014 based on he has done NOTHING to this point to deserve it and then you have to question if he can even be healthy for any length of time on top of that .....

[GBMelBlount]

hard to label him injury prone based on these sort of injuries but jimminy christmas this kid cant get on or stay on the field to save his life and it will be tough to pencil him in to replace sanders as a starter in 2014 based on he has done NOTHING to this point to deserve it and then you have to question if he can even be healthy for any length of time on top of that .....

...and I would imagine with Sanders being a question mark and Wheaton, Moye & J. Brown all being unproven that we may have no choice but to pull the trigger on a WR and / or TE early in the draft next year.

Gotta say though that in addition to Brown, Cotchery was a real bright spot as well this year.

[Psycho Ward 86]

didnt he have a broken finger earlier in the season? hope its not the same one.

guess we'll be seeing some derek moye in the browns game. this should be interesting

[zulater]

Wheaton's rookie season can officially be labeled a disappointment. Those of you that suggested he should have been getting playing time over Sanders were proved wrong by Wheaton's lack of production against the Packers when he was given a chance to move up in the rotation.

[Dwinsgames]

Wheaton's rookie season can officially be labeled a disappointment. Those of you that suggested he should have been getting playing time over Sanders were proved wrong by Wheaton's lack of production against the Packers when he was given a chance to move up in the rotation.


knowing this permits us to set our draft board accordingly , that is the only good thing that has come from it ....

[zulater]

knowing this permits us to set our draft board accordingly , that is the only good thing that has come from it ....

I'm guessing by his lack of playing time prior to Cotchery and Sanders going down in the same game that they already had made that determination.

[tube517]

didnt he have a broken finger earlier in the season? hope its not the same one.

guess we'll be seeing some derek moye in the browns game. this should be interesting

Yeah I remember that. Must be the same finger

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[steelreserve]

SWEEEEEEEEEEED!!!

[Hindes204]

I had high hopes for the kid going into this season

[Chidi29]

I'm not surprised at all. You miss OTAs, the crucial learning period, you're playing catch up the rest of the year. Injuries just set him back even more.

But he did make progress all year. From playing very little, to getting more action on STs, to becoming the starting gunner, to seeing a snap or two on offense, and now to playing at least 5 snaps at WR the last four or five weeks, they're steps in the right direction. Even though they don't show up on the stat sheet.

[Dwinsgames]

I'm not surprised at all. You miss OTAs, the crucial learning period, you're playing catch up the rest of the year. Injuries just set him back even more.

But he did make progress all year. From playing very little, to getting more action on STs, to becoming the starting gunner, to seeing a snap or two on offense, and now to playing at least 5 snaps at WR the last four or five weeks, they're steps in the right direction. Even though they don't show up on the stat sheet.


it is troublesome that several WRs drafted much later have had far greater impact for their respective teams , hell Da'Rick Rogers had more yards in 1 game with his second team as an UDFA than Wheaton has been able to muster his entire rookie year with the same organization and he had to learn 2 playbooks

[Chidi29]

it is troublesome that several WRs drafted much later have had far greater impact for their respective teams , hell Da'Rick Rogers had more yards in 1 game with his second team as an UDFA than Wheaton has been able to muster his entire rookie year with the same organization and he had to learn 2 playbooks

Part of it is front office MO. Steelers try to bring their guys along more slowly. Part of it is out of neccesity. Colts needed help at WR in a hurry. And Rogers truthfully may be the more talented player. Talent with him was never the question. Character/mental his chief concerns.

Regardless of what other guys do, there will always be ones that do better, Wheaton isn't too far off track from where the team would want him to be.

[NCSteeler]

Seriously, guys. He's a rookie that missed OTAs. He's playing behind 2 legit #2 WRs in Sanders and Cotchery. When was the guy supposed to prove himself? When was he able to get enough time with Ben to work on some timing? People are talking like he's a bust and his first season isn't even over yet.

Of course other WRs drafted higher and lower are making waves with teams Desperate for WR help.

I'd at least give him a full off season and a chance to se what he can do next year, but apparently he's going to have to learn to catch with broken fingers

[Dwinsgames]

Seriously, guys. He's a rookie that missed OTAs. He's playing behind 2 legit #2 WRs in Sanders and Cotchery. When was the guy supposed to prove himself? When was he able to get enough time with Ben to work on some timing? People are talking like he's a bust and his first season isn't even over yet.

Of course other WRs drafted higher and lower are making waves with teams Desperate for WR help.

I'd at least give him a full off season and a chance to se what he can do next year, but apparently he's going to have to learn to catch with broken fingers


while what you say is true , but teams not desperate for WR help have rookies far outperforming him as well ... Kenny Stills per example

[Spike]

rub some dirt on it

[Chidi29]

while what you say is true , but teams not desperate for WR help have rookies far outperforming him as well ... Kenny Stills per example

There will always be players that outperform you. If that's the level of expectation, you're going to fall short 95% of the time.

[Dwinsgames]

There will always be players that outperform you. If that's the level of expectation, you're going to fall short 95% of the time.


Stills was on my radar prior to last draft so was Rogers , it is documented in the draft forum ... Wheaton never was one of my choices so I am not going to fall short , the organization however has

[Psycho Ward 86]

Seriously, guys. He's a rookie that missed OTAs. He's playing behind 2 legit #2 WRs in Sanders and Cotchery.

lol

[Chidi29]

Stills was on my radar prior to last draft so was Rogers , it is documented in the draft forum ... Wheaton never was one of my choices so I am not going to fall short , the organization however has

Well it's a good thing we don't judge careers after one year.

[NCSteeler]

while what you say is true , but teams not desperate for WR help have rookies far outperforming him as well ... Kenny Stills per example

31 catches is nice for a rookie. Brees has over 600 attempts, that's pretty high and the have only Colston and their TE, they are WR starved. Desperate enough to bring back Meachum who has never lived to the hype.

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lol

I look at it from the perspective that NE was willing to give him cash plus draft picks. He's been our #2 and has the stats of a true #2

[Spike]

Something tells me Manny ain't giving no hometown discounts in negotiations this offseason...."Hasta la vista, baby!"

we need a TALL, fast WR....that can catch everything over the middle...and actually win on a high ball fade route to the flag in the EZ

[Psycho Ward 86]

I look at it from the perspective that NE was willing to give him cash plus draft picks. He's been our #2 and has the stats of a true #2

they were desperate. and history has shown that tom brady can still excel with mediocre to "meh" talent, and sanders fits the bill. sanders is a very "meh" talent. sanders sucks ass. he's been the culprit of several games and the only reason anyone should be concerned about his likely departure imo is the fact that there isnt much behind him. and cotch is a free agent

[Shoes]

I think he'll be fine, he's got his head screwed on correctly and I think we'll see results next season.


Hey Chidi, nice to see you again.

[Hindes204]

Hey Chidi, nice to see you again.

He's big time now, no time for is simple peasants anymore, hahahaha

[Dwinsgames]

31 catches is nice for a rookie. Brees has over 600 attempts, that's pretty high and the have only Colston and their TE, they are WR starved. Desperate enough to bring back Meachum who has never lived to the hype.

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Jimmy Graham 1100 + yards

Colston 876

Stills 565

sproles 574

Thomas 510

Meacham 287

Moore 384

looks more like a team that spreads the ball around than a desperate team to me , but that is just my perspective

[NCSteeler]

What I see is Stills being their number two WR.


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[Devilsdancefloor]

i am willing to give him 3 years because he was behind eveyone else in the learning curve, plus WR is the hardest to transition to the NFL, although there are other rookies doing better than him to be honest he fits the Steeler MO for WR. I will be shock if he doesnt surprise people the next 2 years.

[GBMelBlount]

i am willing to give him 3 years because he was behind eveyone else in the learning curve, plus WR is the hardest to transition to the NFL, although there are other rookies doing better than him to be honest he fits the Steeler MO for WR. I will be shock if he doesnt surprise people the next 2 years.

Good call DDF.

I am not ready to throw Wheaton or the FO under the bus yet either...


Toughest transition? Why rookie wide receivers struggle in NFL

Ask an average fan to name the easiest transition from college to the NFL, position-wise, and you're likely draw one common answer: wide receiver. The thought is that the relevant skills -- speed, hands and body positioning -- translate directly to the next level, especially as the NFL has become more of a passing league.

That answer would seem to make perfect sense, but it's wrong.

Wide receiver has become one of the toughest positions for rookies to adapt to in the pros.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000246769/article/toughest-transition-why-rookie-wide-receivers-struggle-in-nfl

[Psycho Ward 86]

i am willing to give him 3 years because he was behind eveyone else in the learning curve, plus WR is the hardest to transition to the NFL, although there are other rookies doing better than him to be honest he fits the Steeler MO for WR. I will be shock if he doesnt surprise people the next 2 years.

we dont have that luxury of time anymore. have people forgotten that we could only afford to do that when we had stalwarts starting at most positions? sanders is probably long gone, and believe it or not, cotch might be gone too, since he has made it clear that he just wants a championship and i no one could blame him if he thinks this isnt the best place to do that?

[SteelMayhem72]

Rogers was a known pothead...we would have never drafted him

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[Dwinsgames]

Rogers was a known pothead...we would have never drafted him

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We drafted Stonio