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VT Coach: Steelers Can Let Imagination Run With Edmunds
By JIM WEXELL
The game, the analyst, neither was as memorable as the quote from the production dinner with the head coach the previous night.
It was passed along during the telecast: "Terrell Edmunds is our best player."
Didn't he mean Tremaine Edmunds? The guy predicted to be a Top 20 lock in the upcoming NFL draft?
to read rest of article:
https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...unds-118294144
That was an awesome read.
These are the types of players you pray you can land in the draft.
Maybe, maybe not - being the most athletic & versatile player on the field in NCAA ball does not always work out when someone steps up to deal with the greater size and speed of the players at the next levelQuote:
Originally Posted by pczach
I will hope for the best but assume the Steelers were trying to trade up to draft an ILB for a good reason
I believe were trying to trade up the get the player they really wanted, Evens. I also believe that Edmunds was likely the name they had penciled in if they couldn't trade up, Barring the unlikely event that Evens was still there.
You and I will both hope for the best. This league is full of athletic players, not all of them make a big splash.
I was speaking specifically about the character, work ethic, communication skills, and leadership that the kid has to go along with the athleticism that he possesses.Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
That article spoke to much more than athleticism.
I'm not sure an ILB or a Safety really makes a difference. Maybe it is more about the role that gets filled. Right now the defense needs someone who can:
1. Make plays 0-3 yards from the line of scrimmage sideline to sideline.
2. Carry TE's and RBs down the field in the passing game.
3. Use athleticism and instincts to make a handful of plays behind the LOS each game.
4. Force turnovers.
That is basically the "Ryan Shazier sized hole" in the defense. If it is an ILB in the 3-4 or a "rover" in the 3-3-5 - what difference does it make?
We won't really know how the differences between the two players (Evans and Edmunds) really shakes out until we learn more about how all these safeties are going to be used. Burnett, Davis, Edmunds, Allen, and even Berhe all basically excel at similar things and suffer from similar weaknesses...It adds up to a head scratcher right now.
But I'm not sure adding Evans to this mix in place of Edmunds would really provide any more capability or clarity.
Thanks for the clarification :drink:Quote:
Originally Posted by pczach
I am glad he apparently is a nice person but dubious how much that has to do with being a difference maker on defense (see, e.g., Lawrence Taylor, Ray Lewis, Ernie Holmes)
ONly the Steelers know the plan...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojouw
Did you read the article? It’s talking about his work ethic and leadership on the field. I’m not sure what that has to do with being a nice guy.Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
No no one is saying he’s going to be Troy, or even Shazier. But the story is neither about him being fast or being a nice guy.
“Nice person”? Boy is that belittling. Let’s go the other way ......James Farrior, not what you would call a superstar athlete, but very smart, high character, and a great field commander. Never going to make the Hall of Fame, but instrumental in running a top ten defense for a decade. Really sorry you’re so down on Edmunds.....Did you actually read the article? It may have said “nice person”, but was not the gist of the article.Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
No - I just spouted off without reading the article and made up this comment on my ownQuote:
Originally Posted by DesertSteel
Just a highly intelligent young man who has a great family, great mom and dad, grandparents, really grounded in things that are important, in hard work, and in treating people the right way.
This is typical happy talk - only time I recall a coach trashing one of his own players was when Jim Mora trashed Josh Rosen before the draft
So if we strip away all the adjectives and wordy phrases, a coach likes a player because he works hard and is in shape. On top of that he seems to have the ability to not be stupid in football meeting rooms, pretty low bar, but okay.
There is zero talk about how that translates to plays or production on the field. Look, I bet every coach Tyler Matekavich has ever had absolutely loves the kid. I bet his girlfriend's parents love him. I bet old ladies at Giant Eagle think he is great. But no one is in a hurry to have him start on an NFL field.
I bet Robert Golden was a swell guy as well. The local media sure liked him.
Until this dude actually does anything on a field, it is all just happy talk. Plus, what is a coach gonna do? Trash his 1st round drafted player and just kill his recruitment efforts in the future?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
I believe he's going to be a helluva good player.
Edmunds is a great athlete that is very versatile with a ton of intangibles going for him that I believe will help him be a very good player.
Evans is a slightly less athletic player that is also versatile and has incredible instincts and a high football IQ. He was a great player at a position of need. He is everything Edmunds is and a bag of donuts. He is the player I hoped they would be able to draft.
The more I see of Edmunds from 2016 and the more I listen to him speak, the more I am impressed by him. Coaches may talk up their own kids, but you don't often see a coach call someone his best player when his brother was drafted ahead of him and on the same defense.
I hope so too and obviously would prefer to have a great player who is not a jerk as opposed to the great Steelers players on the current roster who have been jerksQuote:
Originally Posted by pczach
But with regard to my cynicism about coaches puffing their own players, here is another college coach with an upbeat analysis of another Steelers first round pick
Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said Jones' combination of size, speed and strength allows him beat offensive tackles in many ways. Richt said Jones is also fast enough to tackle runners from sideline to sideline, and the Bulldogs even use him to mirror mobile quarterbacks.
"Some guys are just speed rushers," Richt said. "Some guys will beat them on the edge and show them an up-field move and slip underneath. That causes problems. There are some great speed rushers, but that's all they've got. Jarvis, every once in a while, he just decides to lift them out of their shoes because they're kind of on their heels, trying to worry about whether he's going inside or outside. Then he just runs them over, so he has a big bull rush as well. A guy with that ability and that kind of motor, you're going to make plays."
http://www.espn.com/college-football...edy-star-field
That one did not end well
I know. It was bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
For what it's worth, I was completely against drafting Jarvis Jones. I stated it loudly at Steelers Fever, and it was for strictly what I saw on tape as a lack of athleticism and pass rush moves.
I see none of those concerns with Edmunds.
You're right...coaches talk up their players. What is unusual is having multiple 1st round players and brothers entering the draft, and saying one was definitely his best player. That just doesn't happen.
Ok if that’s all you got out of it. You’re usually more well thought out :).Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
:rofl: So college coach pumping up his ex player tires might not translate to NFL greatness huh? :sarcasm02:Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlantaDan
I hear ya. By all accounts Edmunds is a great kid, comes from a good family and works hard. Tape doesn't lie and he gets a chance to put some NFL tape together in Aug.
Every coach is going to talk good about a former player. He sort of “has” to say nice things, otherwise future recruits would (rightfully) ask: “Why would I play for you... if you’re not gonna back me during the draft process.”
That said, Fuente went above & beyond.
Fuente could have stuck to the banal “coach speak”, but he felt compelled to call Terrell the “best player” on his team. What makes that comment doubly interesting is that Tremaine was the far-more-touted prospect. In other words, Fuente meant what he said... with conviction enough to risk “alienating” Tremaine.
I put more stock on what he said in the production room during the season. There was no incentive for him to single Edmunds out and call him the best player on the team.
I just can not bring myself to read Wexell on anything pertaining to this draft selection after he tweeted this a few days before the draft ...
shows how pompous he is IMO and this isnt the only instance of him being that way , there are plenty others ... he turned me off probably 5 years ago and I have never been able to get past his attitude and thinking he has a crystal ball and " insider info" he is a wanna be
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdprJiqVMAA7RjZ.jpg
What do you think of La Canfora and Dale Lolley?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
La Canfora tweeted that because he had obviously gotten information from multiple sources about how Terrell was regarded within organizations. Even if he was wrong, he was going with what he heard and simply said it was a possibility.
What Wexell and Lolley did is just silly. They have been in the game long enough to know that there is always a chance a team will covet a player more than they imagined. To go out there and say "no chance" is just stupid. All they had to do is hedge their bets and say that they didn't think so, but you never know. Watching all these guys make bold, definitive comments to try to stand out and look like geniuses is laughable. I contend that most of us know as much or more about players than they do. Add to that the fact that they act like an "insider" yet they had no idea multiple teams thought Terrell could go in the first round as we all found out after the draft.....just like those two "insider" clowns did.
Wexell comes off as a guy that's trying too hard to stand out, because he doesn't have much inside information to add to the conversation.
truly not a fan of either ....Quote:
Originally Posted by GBMelBlount
Lolley is just about as guilty as Wexell both are pompous but to me Wexell is more so ( but not a lot more )
La canfora is just unreliable , seemingly makes shit up at times but it could be just bad sourcing or plans changed ? not sure really but I am not a " fan " can take him or leave him and take what he says into consideration but wouldn't bank on any of it ...
honestly some of the better Pittsburgh sports writers are lesser knows Like Chris Adamski of the trib ... Curt Popejoy at steelers wire is another ( he is a non active member here and a long time friend of mine )
just my random thoughts
Wexell never even listed Terrell Edmunds as a possibility for the Steelers' 1st round selection:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
Odds Favor Defender For Steelers' First Pick
By JIM WEXELL
Apr 24
https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...Pick-117632270