Steelers: Where is Brandon Boykin?

[Still Curtain]

Before I start this post, I need to get the awful taste of that Ravens loss out of my mouth. Okay, I’m good. On August 1st, the Steelers traded a conditional fifth-round draft pick to acquire CB*Brandon Boykin from the Philadelphia Eagles. Many in Steeler Nation (including myself) applauded this move by Steelers GM Kevin […]
Steelers: Where is Brandon Boykin? (http://stillcurtain.com/2015/10/06/steelers-brandon-boykin/) - Still Curtain (http://stillcurtain.com) - Still Curtain - A Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more. (http://stillcurtain.com)


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[ALLD]

If the kid can play he should be out there on the field. I don't care if he called Tomlin's mother bad names. Maybe Tomlin thinks he will hold him back like Bryant and then let him explode. That would be good if we were consistently already winning.

[StillCurtains]

Before I start this post, I need to get the awful taste of that Ravens loss out of my mouth. Okay, I’m good. On August 1st, the Steelers traded a conditional fifth-round draft pick to acquire CB*Brandon Boykin from the Philadelphia Eagles. Many in Steeler Nation (including myself) applauded this move by Steelers GM Kevin […]
Steelers: Where is Brandon Boykin? (http://stillcurtain.com/2015/10/06/steelers-brandon-boykin/) - Still Curtain (http://stillcurtain.com) - Still Curtain - A Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more. (http://stillcurtain.com)


More... (http://stillcurtain.com/2015/10/06/steelers-brandon-boykin/)

Dude,

Where else would he be? I'm so tired of this issue every week that it makes me sick. This guy, despite the good play from Cockrell is the best corner on this team.

I like William Gay. He has coverage and decent play making ability on the ball. The only thing with him is he lacks the speed and atheleticizm to play outside vs top level WR's. He should man the slot.

I'm not saying to replace Cockrell. He should start on one side. He has the size, speed, atheletic ability and ball skills to man the outside.

Boykin should start on the other side. He doesn't have the size, but he's atheletic with good jumping ability. He's a good cover guy with acceptional ball skills and good speed. He's the most polished corner on the roster hands down and there is no way Blake should start over him.

There is no upside for Blake. He's a hard hitter and that's all he has to offer. He can't cover, has no ball awareness, no ball skills, and never turns for the ball. I would much rather have corners on the field that can win the game, or get our defense of the field by knocking down or intercepting a pass, than a guy who will deliver a hard hit after giving up a first down or touchdown. Blake's play should be used for special teams.

Boykin probably complained to the staff about playing time and was put in the dog house. It's easy to complain when you were the best corner in Philly, was kept in the slot and wanted to play outside, get traded to Pittsburgh when you're clearly the best corner with cover 2 experience, and you're sitting behind a practice squad corner from Jacksonville that couldn't even make their 53.

This is unacceptable and he deserves to complain. Here he gets traded here feeling that he would get the opportunity that he didn't get in Philly, and he's playing less here than he did there! It makes mo sense. Now you're letting a guy who can truly help this team rot away on the bench in favor of an ineffective Blake.

[B&GFever]

in the same Dog House Lance Moore was in last year and if Lance taught us anything its next to impossible to get out

[86WARD]

Feel,the same way B&G

[Mojouw]

It does need to be asked at some point - so here goes.

What if Boykin is either a jackass/bad teammate or terminally stupid?

Philadelphia couldn't wait to ship him out of town. And now he is in Pittsburgh and is not exactly making a good impression.

Could it be that Boykin is the type of the player who has all the physical tools but not the mental ones to be a starter in the NFL?

A recent article indicated that he asked why he wasn't playing and the coaches told him something. Something that Boykin refused to divulge. That is usually something along the lines of "you are too stupid to remember you assignments and we don't trust you to do anything besides man coverage".

I by no means am saying this is going on or am I even suspicious that it is. But it does need said that this is two teams that seem to be souring on the same player.

[Steelman]

It does need to be asked at some point - so here goes.

What if Boykin is either a jackass/bad teammate or terminally stupid?

Philadelphia couldn't wait to ship him out of town. And now he is in Pittsburgh and is not exactly making a good impression.

Could it be that Boykin is the type of the player who has all the physical tools but not the mental ones to be a starter in the NFL?

A recent article indicated that he asked why he wasn't playing and the coaches told him something. Something that Boykin refused to divulge. That is usually something along the lines of "you are too stupid to remember you assignments and we don't trust you to do anything besides man coverage".

I by no means am saying this is going on or am I even suspicious that it is. But it does need said that this is two teams that seem to be souring on the same player.

Mo, I'm not jumping on you, I realize you're speaking hypothetically. Here's my question though, I scoured the reports on him and most put him in a top-5 type of category as a slot corner for the past few years, minus that last season in Philly with Chip running the show. So what changed? Yeah he wanted to play outside but what happened to the top-5 slot corner? Did he psych himself out of it by only wanting to play outside? Is that why Antwon Blake and Ross Cockrell are above him on the depth chart? I just find it hard to believe that a guy like that is terminally stupid (i.e. Shamarko) after he's already had success in the NFL. So that leaves the jackass.

It's hard to know about the jackass theory from his time in Philly because Chip was cleaning house Madden-franchise style and basically started over. All the reports I could find basically indicated it was a personnel + money decision to get rid of Boykin, not that he was a jerk or people couldn't get along with him. Nothing jumps out as far as red flags in that department.

The whole thing is just kinda weird to me and as others have mentioned, does seem eerily similar to the Lance Moore situation, although I believe Moore was just a shell of his former self which wasn't mind-blowing anyways.

[SteelerFanInStl]

There were no reports of Boykin being any kind of a problem while he was with Philly. He also was a very good slot CB. I don't believe for one second that either of these have changed.

All that I see is Lance Moore all over again and I'm not happy about that.

[Psycho Ward 86]

It does need to be asked at some point - so here goes.

What if Boykin is either a jackass/bad teammate or terminally stupid?

Philadelphia couldn't wait to ship him out of town.

I wouldnt say Philadelphia couldnt wait to ship him out of town more than I would say Chip Kelly couldnt wait to ship him out of town.

And its not like he couldnt wait to do that to a lot of other perfectly good players so i put very little weight on it. If the Eagles were actually having any success I might take the possibility more seriously. Not playing vastly superior players doesnt seem to be a new practice for us

[Mojouw]

Mo, I'm not jumping on you, I realize you're speaking hypothetically. Here's my question though, I scoured the reports on him and most put him in a top-5 type of category as a slot corner for the past few years, minus that last season in Philly with Chip running the show. So what changed? Yeah he wanted to play outside but what happened to the top-5 slot corner? Did he psych himself out of it by only wanting to play outside? Is that why Antwon Blake and Ross Cockrell are above him on the depth chart? I just find it hard to believe that a guy like that is terminally stupid (i.e. Shamarko) after he's already had success in the NFL. So that leaves the jackass.

It's hard to know about the jackass theory from his time in Philly because Chip was cleaning house Madden-franchise style and basically started over. All the reports I could find basically indicated it was a personnel + money decision to get rid of Boykin, not that he was a jerk or people couldn't get along with him. Nothing jumps out as far as red flags in that department.

The whole thing is just kinda weird to me and as others have mentioned, does seem eerily similar to the Lance Moore situation, although I believe Moore was just a shell of his former self which wasn't mind-blowing anyways.

I have no idea. I was super pumped when the trade was announced and assumed Boykin would be a top 3 corner for this team in no time flat. That hasn't happened. So we are left with two options:

1. The coaching staff is basically a bunch of bitchy high school girls that run around letting their emotions and petty hatreds dictate game planning, roster construction, and playing time

OR

2. Boykin is at least contributing to his lack of playing time by either doing something (being a jackass, freelancing, etc) or not doing something (film study, learning the playbook, etc).

Until I can have it confirmed otherwise, I'm going to start with the assumption that it is the second option.

On the Lance Moore, thing. It was kinda dumb. But I also kinda get it. Lance Moore has never made a run block in his whole career - he certainly wasn't going to start doing it at the end. Brown gave them more in that portion of the game. Also, it wasn't like Moore was any great shakes at that point anyways. He was superior to Brown, but he wasn't the missing piece.

Finally, to weigh in on the Steelers not playing better players over dirtball starters, etc. That was mostly a whole different set of coaches. The "new" (Butler is hardly new, but he is new at calling the shots) staff seems invested in getting the whole roster involved. No way Dupree this year or Tuitt and Shazier last year would have had the roles they have on previous defenses. Bryant being the de facto #2 wideout halfway into his rookie year - never happens under previous staffs. Golson was likely going to start if he didn't hurt his shoulder. They tried to let Shamrko start over Allen's old ass, but Shark is too stupid to play.

I think this used to be a very telling critique of the Steelers, but now it seems to be that talent plays as long as that talent can consistently execute the called plays.

[hawaiiansteeler]

perhaps Boykin doesn't know our defensive system well enough yet where he can be trusted.

or it can be a lingering injury, we never knew about Mike Mitchell's two torn groins until the season was over...

[86WARD]

I wouldnt say Philadelphia couldnt wait to ship him out of town more than I would say Chip Kelly couldnt wait to ship him out of town.

And its not like he couldnt wait to do that to a lot of other perfectly good players so i put very little weight on it. If the Eagles were actually having any success I might take the possibility more seriously. Not playing vastly superior players doesnt seem to be a new practice for us

This. Kelly shipped a lot of good players out of Philadelphia...that's just speculation that he was a problem...just like everyone else is speculating that Tomlin has mad love for Blake and refuses to start Boykin.

[Mojouw]

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02346/Wally---Gobbling-G_2346215b.jpg

[teegre]

It's a schooner.