Golson cleared to work out, should be ready for 2016

[katmandu]

http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2016/01/18/golson-cleared-to-work-out-should-be-ready-for-2016/

[teegre]

That's like getting an extra draft pick.

[steelreserve]

I just wonder what the season would've been like if he was able to play.

Who am I kidding, Blake still would've started all 16 games.

[bayz101]

Holy fuck, I forgot about him.

[86WARD]

Meh...can't depend on him to be any sort of savior

[Count Steeler]

Meh...can't depend on him to be any sort of savior

Hopefully he is a warm body. Some of those guys played like corpses this year.

[86WARD]

True. But I'm not betting on him...

[Psycho Ward 86]

not going to lie, ill be pissed if he turns out to be yet another slot corner. Any CB we draft in 2016 HAS to be good on the outside. Gay has really improved out there but, Ross looks promising but let's not cross our fingers, Tez is as good as gone. No one seems to know yet if Boykin can do it yet.

[ALLD]

Gay reminds me a lot of Ike Taylor, but with much better hands and less shut down ability. He has one more year left. Golson is a slot guy. No way he will be covering a 6'5" TE over the middle or a tall WR down the sidelines.

His claim to fame was lots of picks in college like the 7th rounder who didn't make the team.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Gay reminds me a lot of Ike Taylor, but with much better hands and less shut down ability. He has one more year left. Golson is a slot guy. No way he will be covering a 6'5" TE over the middle or a tall WR down the sidelines.

His claim to fame was lots of picks in college like the 7th rounder who didn't make the team.

not true. while i have shaky confidence in his abilities because of his size, the vast majority of his scouting reports were superlatives across the board other than his size. poor vertical as well, but he's shown on film he can win jump balls. i cant imagine how the fuck that works but film doesnt lie i suppose

[zulater]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if he comes in and plays at a reasonably high level next season. Figure he's had a year to learn with the pro's, been exposed to NFL film study, workout routines, knows his was around the facility, is signed, and will be a full go in all offseason OTO's. So he'll be more than a rookie It all comes down to whether his ability justified his draft placement? If so that's a big boost to the secondary right off the bat!

You all will think I'm crazy on this next point. But I would really love it if they take this offseason to convert Cortez Allen to safety. I really think there's a chance he could re-find his confidence at that position. I believe he has NFL ability, but corner might just be a bit much for him.

Of course his contract might just force them to move on from him without even trying to see if he can be salvaged in any way?

[86WARD]

According to what Tomlin said today, it doesn't sound promising for Allen.

[tube517]

Grant will probably get a look at safety.

Tomlin pretty much kicked Cortex to the curb in his presser.

[Psycho Ward 86]

are there any good cornerbacks in the league of comparable size or smaller than Golson that are currently playing? just curious

jason verrett is the only one i can think of

[SteelerFanInStl]

are there any good cornerbacks in the league of comparable size or smaller than Golson that are currently playing? just curious

jason verrett is the only one i can think of
Tim Jennings is one. He's listed at 5`8" 185 lbs so he's actually shorter than Golson. He had some pretty good years for the Bears.

[zulater]

are there any good cornerbacks in the league of comparable size or smaller than Golson that are currently playing? just curious

jason verrett is the only one i can think of

I now he's long since retired, but Redskins all time great Darrell Green was listed at 5' 9". I realize the game changes but I cant see that it's changed that much that he still wouldn't gravitate to the top of the league were he coming into the league today. So it can be done. Now I'm not saying that Golson will ever be in Green's neighborhod as a player, I'm just saying I wouldn't exclude him from fitting the Steelers needs based on one measurable.

Height can be overrated. Just ask Antonio Brown, Geno Atkins, and Aaron Donald. These 3 players have made a lot of scouts regret downgrading them for a couple of inches.

I'm taking the optimistic approach and thinking Golson can add a lot to the team next year. Maybe he wont start right away but I think he'll be a big part of the rotation.

[steelreserve]

I don't think size pigeonholes you into being a slot CB. It's not like he's 5'3".

A height difference of 3 inches is almost never going to be a big factor. You look at the close plays, almost all of them come down to timing, reactions, and quickness. (Note that I say "quickness" rather than "speed," because all these guys are fast; the only thing to worry about in terms of straight-line speed is whether you have enough to meet the ante, which he almost certainly does.) If you're the QB, and you have a receiver who's 6'4" and the cornerback is right on him step-for-step, he's not open, so you're probably not going to throw him the ball unless it's one of those plays where you just randomly chuck it up there and hope. So nobody other than Joe Flacco is going to do that very much.

It's encouraging to hear that despite a lack of size and despite not having a great vertical leap, Golson wins a lot of battles for jump balls. That shows he probably DOES have the timing and reactions down.

Remember, the standard we're trying to beat here is not "Revis Island" - it's "not leaving guys wide open way down the field." If he can do that, which basically means just having the ability to stay with your man, then it's an improvement for our secondary.

Of course, it would be smart if we try to avoid mismatches when possible - putting him up against the other team's 5'11" or 6'0" receiver instead of the 6'5" guy, but that ought to be doable. Not too many teams out there who ONLY have NBA-sized receivers and no regular-sized ones.

[Mojouw]

I don't think size pigeonholes you into being a slot CB. It's not like he's 5'3".

A height difference of 3 inches is almost never going to be a big factor. You look at the close plays, almost all of them come down to timing, reactions, and quickness. (Note that I say "quickness" rather than "speed," because all these guys are fast; the only thing to worry about in terms of straight-line speed is whether you have enough to meet the ante, which he almost certainly does.) If you're the QB, and you have a receiver who's 6'4" and the cornerback is right on him step-for-step, he's not open, so you're probably not going to throw him the ball unless it's one of those plays where you just randomly chuck it up there and hope. So nobody other than Joe Flacco is going to do that very much.

It's encouraging to hear that despite a lack of size and despite not having a great vertical leap, Golson wins a lot of battles for jump balls. That shows he probably DOES have the timing and reactions down.

Remember, the standard we're trying to beat here is not "Revis Island" - it's "not leaving guys wide open way down the field." If he can do that, which basically means just having the ability to stay with your man, then it's an improvement for our secondary.

Of course, it would be smart if we try to avoid mismatches when possible - putting him up against the other team's 5'11" or 6'0" receiver instead of the 6'5" guy, but that ought to be doable. Not too many teams out there who ONLY have NBA-sized receivers and no regular-sized ones.

Totally agree. The only problem is that ALL of the Steelers CBs are garden gnomes. http://www.nfl.com/teams/roster?d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&team=PIT&d-447263-p=1&d-447263-s=persons.primary_Position.id.position_Id

[Psycho Ward 86]

Totally agree. The only problem is that ALL of the Steelers CBs are garden gnomes. http://www.nfl.com/teams/roster?d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&team=PIT&d-447263-p=1&d-447263-s=persons.primary_Position.id.position_Id

this is what worries me. the only other cornerback in recent years of similiar size that still managed to be very good is Antoine Winfield.

let's hope his rare ball skills and such are really as rare as the scouting reports say. this might be a little harsh but im going to be disappointed in the pick no matter how well he manages to play in the slot. we are long overdue a cornerback who is great on the outside

[steelreserve]

Totally agree. The only problem is that ALL of the Steelers CBs are garden gnomes. http://www.nfl.com/teams/roste r?d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&team=PIT&d-447263-p=1&d-447263-s=persons.primary_Position.id.position_Id

Well, we've got Cock at 6'0", but yeah .. he's probably the least skilled among the guys I'd want to keep. So that could be a problem if he's our only option. I'd still rather have a more overall talented guy on the field playing outside than a guy who's there simply because he's tall.

I don't know. I tend to think we'll be OK as long as we put the best guys out there that we can. From personal experience, I'm only a little taller than average and used to routinely guard guys in basketball who were 6'5", 6'6" and do a decent job. A guy like Golson's been facing that disadvantage his whole life, so he probably got it down pat.

On the other hand, talking purely about height, Golson guarding Calvin Johnson is the equivalent of me trying to guard Tim Duncan or Dwight Howard, so I guess maybe there is something to it.

[polamalubeast]

690274198862852098

[Psycho Ward 86]

690274198862852098

also notice that about 8 of the 12 playoff teams have 3+ good corners

[Mojouw]

Well, we've got Cock at 6'0", but yeah .. he's probably the least skilled among the guys I'd want to keep. So that could be a problem if he's our only option. I'd still rather have a more overall talented guy on the field playing outside than a guy who's there simply because he's tall.

I don't know. I tend to think we'll be OK as long as we put the best guys out there that we can. From personal experience, I'm only a little taller than average and used to routinely guard guys in basketball who were 6'5", 6'6" and do a decent job. A guy like Golson's been facing that disadvantage his whole life, so he probably got it down pat.

On the other hand, talking purely about height, Golson guarding Calvin Johnson is the equivalent of me trying to guard Tim Duncan or Dwight Howard, so I guess maybe there is something to it.

I agree that talent plays and height should not be viewed as completely limiting factor. I'm just saying that in a perfect world, the CB position group would have some diversity of skill sets/physical traits. The one glaring one I can see on paper is, other than Cocker Spaniel, a serious lack of height. Who is going to out jump AJ Green? Josh Gordon should be back next year. That is 4 games per year with a built in match-up problem. Again, I am not saying to just draft a guy because he is tall while another better overall DB is out there. Just be nice to have some match-up flexibility back there.

I think about it like the WR group. They can all play, but each has a skill(s) that the others lack. I mean it would be cool if we could just clone AB, but the height and size that Bryant and Coates add to the group is a good contrast to the smaller and shiftier AB and Wheaton.