2011-12 draft classes giving the Steelers little this year.

[zulater]

I was just wondering the other day who the Steelers rookie of the year might be this year? And it occured to me that it's probably going to end up being the punter Kevin Butler. Who to me, for this year anyway was a pretty marginal player. ( at best)

I guess you could make some sort of case for Chris Rainey who' had a couple good kick returns and a couple splash plays on offense. But truthfully I kinda cringe when Rainey lines up in the backfield. He's just not powerful enough to break a tackle, can't block, and for whatever reason can't seem to get out in space ever with the ball.

Mike Adams has also had his moments. But has he had enough of them when you factor in all the injuries?

DeCastro could make a late charge I guess, but I think they usually award the Steelers ROY before the season is done. And two starts isn't much of a body of work to judge on.

Beachum has been ok too. So I suppose he could get some support?

Worse than this though is how little production they've gotten out of their sophomore class this season. aka the class of 2011. Marcus Gilbert's missed most of the season due to injury. But even when he was playing he wasn't that impressive. It's far from a given that he'll be starting next season.

Cameron Heyward shows flashes now and then, but isn't producing at the level you'd expect from a second year first round draft pick.

3rd round pick Curtis Brown was run right out of the cb rotation by the Chargers the first time he got any extensive playing time.

Cortez Allen is a good nickel back who still seems to be trending in the right direction. As of now he clearly seems to be the cream of the 2011 crop.

Chris Carter didn't look like much when he subbed for Deebo.

And finally Barron Batch seems to be nothing more than a nice special teams player.

If you look around the rest of the league is anyone else getting so little production out of their last two drafts?

And when you see this is it any wonder that this season's been so derailed by injuries? All teams get injuries, but if your'e not bringing in good young talent to fill the void then of course you're going to struggle.

[st33lersguy]

More time is needed for these 2 draft classes to prove themselves but yeah not impressive so far

[X-Terminator]

We will know more about these 2 draft classes in the next 2 seasons. It is WAY too early to start questioning them.

[zulater]

More time is needed for these 2 draft classes to prove themselves but yeah not impressive so far

While that's obviously true, you also can look around the league and see teams like the Bengals, Redskins, and Seahawks getting huge dividends already from their last two draft classes. And not just with their first round picks. There's a lot of guys from these last two draft classes currently playing a high level that the Steelers had a chance to draft and didn't.

[X-Terminator]

While that's obviously true, you also can look around the league and see teams like the Bengals, Redskins, and Seahawks getting huge dividends already from their last two draft classes. And not just with their first round picks. There's a lot of guys from these last two draft classes currently playing a high level that the Steelers had a chance to draft and didn't.

Those players on those teams were also pressed right into service, replacing players who were not performing in many cases. The Steelers' situation is different, in that their sometimes maddening loyalty to veterans gets them more playing time ahead of younger players. On the flip side, however, they haven't been making the decisions difficult on the coaching staff, giving them little or no choice but to put them on the field more often. So looking at it that way, I can see your point. I still think it's too early to judge them overall, though.

[zulater]

Guys the Steelers could have drafted this year that are producing at a high level include LB Bobby Wagner of the Seahawks (47th pick) CB Casey Hayward of the Packers(62) RB Vick Ballard of Indy (170th) LB Lavone David of Tampa Bay (58th) or how about S Harrison Smith of the Vikings (29th)

Look I get it that hind sight is always 20/20. But I think you can make the case the Steelers are drafting too much for perceived need and leaving superior players on the board lately.

[BlastFurnace]

How can we really know what a defensive player picked knows in the 1st 2 seasons? Allegedly, it takes 3 years to learn Dick's defense...that hasn't worked effectively in 3 of the last 4 years.

[X-Terminator]

Guys the Steelers could have drafted this year that are producing at a high level include LB Bobby Wagner of the Seahawks (47th pick) CB Casey Hayward of the Packers(62) RB Vick Ballard of Indy (170th) LB Lavone David of Tampa Bay (58th) or how about S Harrison Smith of the Vikings (29th)

Look I get it that hind sight is always 20/20. But I think you can make the case the Steelers are drafting too much for perceived need and leaving superior players on the board lately.

Yes, hindsight is definitely 20/20. The draft is a total crapshoot, and you simply cannot anticipate what you are going to get out of any player you select. And it's also a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. If they draft BPA and ignore need, the fans complain. If they draft need and don't put more emphasis on drafting BPA, the fans complain. The only thing they can hope for is that the players they draft end up succeeding, and then the fans shut up.

[Dwinsgames]

earlier rounds are more of a calculated risk than a crap shoot ..... I agree the mid to late round picks are a crap shoot but honestly if you draft solid football players early you get football players ....

later you change that philosophy and turn towards athletes and you at the very least get solid special teams guys ...

mitigating as much risk as possible .. always trust what they put on tape and less on what transpires in Indy

[steelreserve]

Guys the Steelers could have drafted this year that are producing at a high level include LB Bobby Wagner of the Seahawks (47th pick) CB Casey Hayward of the Packers(62) RB Vick Ballard of Indy (170th) LB Lavone David of Tampa Bay (58th) or how about S Harrison Smith of the Vikings (29th)

Look I get it that hind sight is always 20/20. But I think you can make the case the Steelers are drafting too much for perceived need and leaving superior players on the board lately.

I don't think you can ever look back at the draft and say "we could've had this guy instead, we messed up." Half of every team's draft is like that every year. Every guy you pick who doesn't turn out to be a star, there are always 5 or 6 guys below him who surprisingly did. People are always upset that we didn't run the table in all these coulda woulda shoulda scenarios, but the reality is that's never going to happen for any team ever, because nobody really knows how these guys will turn out beyond a handful of first-rounders. Outside the first round, you're basically taking a 1-in-3 chance on every player you draft, regardless of position or BPA, so knowing that, you'd be foolish not to draft for need.

[Count Steeler]

Yes, hindsight is definitely 20/20. The draft is a total crapshoot, and you simply cannot anticipate what you are going to get out of any player you select. And it's also a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. If they draft BPA and ignore need, the fans complain. If they draft need and don't put more emphasis on drafting BPA, the fans complain. The only thing they can hope for is that the players they draft end up succeeding, and then the fans shut up.

I think even another 1974 draft won't shut some fans up.

[7willBheaven]

I was just wondering the other day who the Steelers rookie of the year might be this year? And it occured to me that it's probably going to end up being the punter Kevin Butler. Who to me, for this year anyway was a pretty marginal player. ( at best)

Who is KEVIN Butler? Haha

[Psycho Ward 86]

feels kind of like the 2008 draft class when patrick bailey won steelers rookie of the year. a special teams ace of all people. lol.

[zulater]

Who is KEVIN Butler? Haha

Sorry, I work without a cheat sheet, just going from memory. But in case you don't know who I was talking about it's our current punter, and I'm not going to bother look up his first name now either. As I'm hoping his stay in Pittsburgh is just a one year stop-over.

Glad you got something out of the thread.

[Count Steeler]

Kevin is the dad. Drew is our punter. He was impressive early in camp, but he hasn't been impressive in games.

[GBMelBlount]

earlier rounds are more of a calculated risk than a crap shoot ..... I agree the mid to late round picks are a crap shoot but honestly if you draft solid football players ealy you get football players ....

later you change that philosophy and turn towards athletes and you at the very least get solid special teams guys ...

mitigating as much risk as possible .. always trust what they put on tape and less on what transpires in Indy

PERFECTLY STATED D.

[st33lersguy]

Think about this, Eli Manning by his 4th year was being run out of town and considered a bust and now he is considered elite, Ike Taylor who many on this board would consider the best player, barely played his first 2 seasons. Bradshaw was a backup for part of his 5th year and he still won 4 Superbowls. Not every good player plays well out of the gate. We need to give them more playing time and more of a chance to pass judgement

[zulater]

Think about this, Eli Manning by his 4th year was being run out of town and considered a bust and now he is considered elite, Ike Taylor who many on this board would consider the best player, barely played his first 2 seasons. Bradshaw was a backup for part of his 5th year and he still won 4 Superbowls. Not every good player plays well out of the gate. We need to give them more playing time and more of a chance to pass judgement

I get that. I'm not saying anyone was neccessarily a bad pick. I'm just saying that there's a lot of teams out there getting solid production from first and second year players. Us, not so much. And given the state or our team it would be nice to have a few more solid young players contributing.

[st33lersguy]

I get that. I'm not saying anyone was neccessarily a bad pick. I'm just saying that there's a lot of teams out there getting solid production from first and second year players. Us, not so much. And given the state or our team it would be nice to have a few more solid young players contributing.

A lot of our 1st and 2nd year guys aren't even playing. Cam Heyward for example has had very limited playing time. Other youngsters haven't been on the field often as they have taken a back seat to some of the older players

[zulater]

A lot of our 1st and 2nd year guys aren't even playing. Cam Heyward for example has had very limited playing time. Other youngsters haven't been on the field often as they have taken a back seat to some of the older players

We've become pretty mediocre in a lot of posistions with aged veterans. It would be nice if some of the younger guys could step up sometime soon.

[43Hitman]

Sorry, I work without a cheat sheet, just going from memory. But in case you don't know who I was talking about it's our current punter, and I'm not going to bother look up his first name now either. As I'm hoping his stay in Pittsburgh is just a one year stop-over.

Glad you got something out of the thread.

Kevin is the dad. Drew is our punter. He was impressive early in camp, but he hasn't been impressive in games.

I still contend that Butler has just hit his rookie wall endurance wise. I think with another camp and the experience of his rookie year that he will show us more of what we saw earlier this year on a more consistent basis.

[zulater]

I still contend that Butler has just hit his rookie wall endurance wise. I think with another camp and the experience of his rookie year that he will show us more of what we saw earlier this year on a more consistent basis.

I hope you're right.

One thing I have noticed with Butler is he does an excellent job on placement kick holds. He gets the ball in position for Suisham as well as any Steeler holder I can remember. And it wouldn't surprise me if some of suisham's success this season is in part attributable to Butler's exceptional holding.

[43Hitman]

I hope you're right.

One thing I have noticed with Butler is he does an excellent job on placement kick holds. He gets the ball in position for Suisham as well as any Steeler holder I can remember. And it wouldn't surprise me if some of suisham's success this season is in part attributable to Butler's exceptional holding.

You very well could be right. He sure as hell gets the ball down quick.

[zulater]

You very well could be right. He sure as hell gets the ball down quick.

Timing means a lot to a successfull kick.

[KeiselPower99]

You can look at any draft and say we picked player x at this spot we could have had player z also and he is having a pro bowl season. People had been clamoring for years for the offensive and defensive lines to be addressed in the draft we finally do and we are still bitching about it. That is one thing that pisses me off. There is no consistency in arguments. Its like the fans that wanted Arians gone and loved the Haley addition in February now they want Bruce back and Haley fired. One thing we need to remember is when drafting whats the players we currently have look like compared to those other teams. Wagner probably wouldnt have seen the field much this season with us because Foote and Timmons have played so good.

[Dwinsgames]

PERFECTLY STATED D.

thanks