Snapshot in time: Comparing Cowher, Tomlin drafts

[Shoes]

Bill Cowher is in his eighth season of sitting on the CBS studio set every Sunday analyzing NFL games, yet his legacy remains with the Steelers.
Not just with the Lombardi Trophy won during the 2005 season, which is proudly displayed at the Steelers' South Side headquarters, but perhaps in an unexpected place — on their roster.

Seven of the current Steelers' 53 players are from the Cowher era that ended after the 2006 season: Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Brett Keisel, Ike Taylor, Heath Miller and long snapper Greg Warren.
That's a striking number, especially in comparison to this: Only six players remain from coach Mike Tomlin's first four draft classes from 2007-2010, and only nine are around from his first five classes.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/6900630-74/tomlin-cowher-draft#ixzz3GYnH2Mli

[X-Terminator]

If we're really going to compare eras, let's compare Cowher's first 5 drafts to Tomlin's rather than reference a bunch of guys who were all drafted or signed in different years, and one (Harrison) who was cut by Cowher before Tomlin gave him his chance to be a superstar. You'd probably come up with the same conclusion, but would have a much better point of reference.

[ALLD]

Yes, more teams are running 3-4 defenses in Tomlin's era, but Tomlin has also had higher picks. It would be a safe bet that Tomlin will never have a draft on the caliber of 1974. If he survives this season they should remove his draft input.

[Dwinsgames]

If we're really going to compare eras, let's compare Cowher's first 5 drafts to Tomlin's rather than reference a bunch of guys who were all drafted or signed in different years, and one (Harrison) who was cut by Cowher before Tomlin gave him his chance to be a superstar. You'd probably come up with the same conclusion, but would have a much better point of reference.

1) Tough to do that because there was a huge power struggle between Cowher and Donahue because of the limited input permitted by Donahue ....

2) always better to try and keep samples as alike as to what hands touch them and in this case they are keeping Colbert as a common factor of the two ....


for me this is the most eye popping information in the entire article ...


Seven of the current Steelers' 53 players are from the Cowher era that ended after the 2006 season: Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Brett Keisel, Ike Taylor, Heath Miller and long snapper Greg Warren.

That's a striking number, especially in comparison to this: Only six players remain from coach Mike Tomlin's first four draft classes from 2007-2010, and only nine are around from his first five classes





and this .... ( something I have said for years )


What Tomlin's current-day Steelers prove is that an NFL team is only as good — or as bad — as its drafts.

[GBMelBlount]

Due to the averaging effect of large numbers and the draft being an absolute crap shoot in the first place; I am of the opinion that poor coaching and player development is the larger problem.

[ALLD]

You are what your record is.

[Craic]

These things always crack me up, because they look to be fair comparisons, but in reality, there's nothing accurate about them. For instance:



How was there no mention that the front office stepped in in 2009-10 and resigned a bunch of old players for bunches of money to keep the team together, and the SB window open. That meant that (1) we couldn't sign other players who eventually moved on, (2) players that would have seen the field earlier, was left sitting on the bench and hence, not developing, and (3) it put us in cap hell after so we still couldn't sign players we may have wanted to sign.
The salary cap freeze exasperated the cap hell situation.
Seven of Cowher's drafts picks would have been out of the NFL, except that they caught on with expansion franchises, which opened up spots for veterans of mediocre talent. After a dozen or so years, that's sorted itself out and that mediocre talent doesn't get picked up


None of this is to excuse or not excuse any coach. Rather, comparison of drafts at this level that are beyond a decade's difference is pretty futile.