Fans' opinions on how the Steelers will solve free agency departures

[Steeldude]

Will it take a season or two to re-load or will they be just fine?

Over the last few years, do you feel comfortable with the Steelers' ability to draft players to become starters? We know the Steelers will get scrubs on the free agent market. That leaves it all up to the draft. Are you confident? Think past the 1st round selection. Most 1st rounders start at some point. I am interested in how they will spend rounds 2 through 7. Or at least 2 through 4.

One thing is certain, as of now the Steelers need a star at OLB. Will it happen in this draft? Can anyone really take the place of Harrison? I can only see Jarvis Jones being able to take his place. Then again he could be a big flop ala Huey Richardson.

[steelerdude15]

I certainly think it will take a couple, if not a few, season to reload and become a good team again. As I said in another thread just now, I think we'll have a losing record for the first time in the Roethlisberger era. I think that record will be 7-9, 4-4 at home (losing to Cleveland, Tennessee, Chicago, and Cincinnati and winning against Buffalo, Miami, Detroit, and Baltimore) and going 3-5 on the road (losing to Minnesota, Oakland, New England, Green Bay, and Baltimore and winning against Cleveland, New York, and Cincinnati).

In a way yes, in a way no when it comes to feeling comfortable about the ability to draft players and them becoming starters. We've seen Pouncey has been great for the Steelers and so has Antonio, Mike Wallace (taking his last year out of the conversation), and Lawrence. I also think David DeCastro will have a bright future. The reason why I say no is because some players don't ban out, but see that's the thing though. You never know what you're going to get out of the draft. You may have a complete bust or a future HOFer. I'm hoping for a good draft this year, but I'm not sure if I feel confident.

I hope the Steelers do draft an OLB in this draft and I hope he becomes a star. Its hard to take the place of James because here was guy that brought so much intensity to this team and brought so much strength and skills that it is hard to replace. I would love to have Jarvis Jones as our new OLB. I think he's amazing and could do wonderfully. There are a couple of things that he could work on (explosiveness of the line and his "block shredding" technique), but other than that, he's great. I hope he can fall to seventeen.

[polamalubeast]

with the first pick in the 2014 nfl draft,the Pittsburgh steelers select ____________________

Maybe this is a overreaction,but right now,the 2013 season could be very ugly

[fansince'76]

with the first pick in the 2014 nfl draft,the Pittsburgh steelers select ____________________

Maybe this is a overreaction...

Yeah, I'd say that's a safe bet.

[stillers4me]

with the first pick in the 2014 nfl draft,the Pittsburgh steelers select ____________________

Maybe this is a overreaction,but right now,the 2013 season could be very ugly

Hmmm... I remember a couple of years ago when a certain QB got his ass suspended and everybody and their grandma predicted we'd be lucky to win 6 games that year.

[steelerdude15]

with the first pick in the 2014 nfl draft,the Pittsburgh steelers select ____________________

Maybe this is a overreaction,but right now,the 2013 season could be very ugly

I won't say we'll be that bad, but I do see an not so good year.

[polamalubeast]

Hmmm... I remember a couple of years ago when a certain QB got his ass suspended and everybody and their grandma predicted we'd be lucky to win 6 games that year.

I was confident in 2010 since the defense with a heathly Polamalu was probably the best in the nfl at this time

I know that the Steelers will not be the worst team in the nfl in 2013, but right now, I have not much confidence,especially in offense

The only good news,is that the AFC north will be wide open in 2013

[steelreserve]

Honestly, if the last couple weeks are an indication of the way things are going this year - I'd rather they just do it all the way, and get all the salary cap bullshit and the expensive-aging-veterans bullshit over with at once. So we can hang on to the pieces we do have and not take a nice plunge into the crapper over the course of two or three years.

It's looking more and more like if we really go all-out and stretch ourselves and our cap situation to the max this year, we can sort of hang on to being competitive, but probably are not going to win the Super Bowl or come close. Eventually the recent cast of characters was going to need a change, and between age and the salary cap, we don't really have much choice in the matter.

I am not terribly impressed with our ability to replenish talent through the draft - on defense more so than offense. We seem to do all right on offense, but on defense we've spent several years reaching for players to fit our scheme, instead of building the roster and the scheme together given what your practical options are. People have kept saying we've drafted smartly, but really we've been forcing it and reaching just as much as anybody because we're married to a fixed system. Hood and Heyward are huge examples of this - given the way the draft and the cap and free agency all play off of each other, drafting 3-4 defensive ends in the first round is not something that's generally a good value. Either we didn't see that trend change, or we thought we could do it anyway and whiffed.

Anyway. That's the way I see it. I'm pretty confident we have enough pieces left to come back and be a force very quickly, if we don't stretch out the painful part for too long and we don't fuck up in the draft anymore.

[GBMelBlount]

The way things are going right now an 8-8 season due to personnel would more likely pass the sniff test than last year.

Regardless, I'd rather this team purge the ass hats than suffer through another season of a 12-4 caliber team going 8-8 because of shitty attitudes by players and coaches.

[Shoes]

Sadly, it looks like Ben is going to waste a few more years.

[oneforthetoe]

If we go 10-6 this year and make the playoffs, I might enjoy it more than winning the Super Bowl. I just have to remeber all these posts from this off-season.

[vtw8lftr]

I just feel management finally took a good hard look at the state of the team... maybe Rooney Sr returned from Ireland and kicked some sense into them... and decided either you take a hometown discount because you are dedicated to the system and the team or we will let you walk so you can be rich now as an individual. I have lived through 35+ years of ups and downs and still I love everything about the Steelers. Great 70's, bad 80's, mediocre 90's, good 00's, ??? 10's but at least a super bowl appearance to start... I will give them a couple of rebuilding years and not be too upset knowing they will be back strong and challenging for championships... that I am NOT worried about.

Tomlin and his staff do worry me a little and seem a little lax... I don't doubt at all that he feels the heat right now with an 8-8 record... let's just hope the rhetoric is done and leadership will follow.

[plenewken]

With less WRs, Ben's number of INTs should drop, so that's a good thing. <sarcasm off>

[Mojouw]

If either Worilds or Carter spontaneously develops the ability to rush the passer and set the edge in the run game, the Steelers draft a competent WR, and a good Safety...then I will stop worrying.

Until then I am concerned. Why release Harrison and Colon, if you are not bringing someone else in?

[TMC]

If either Worilds or Carter spontaneously develops the ability to rush the passer and set the edge in the run game, the Steelers draft a competent WR, and a good Safety...then I will stop worrying.

Until then I am concerned. Why release Harrison and Colon, if you are not bringing someone else in?

Well, you release Harrison because you need cap space today. They probably could not have signed Foster without releasing Harrison. Foster was as good as Colon and he stays healthy. So, you ink Foster and Colon become expendable. It also frees up a bunch of space later. They may extend young guys. They may keep it and roll it over to next season. In addition, they also needed a little more room to sign depth players.

Look, last year, it went downhill because starters were hurt and the quality of depth was bad, very bad. We started Josh Victorian off the street. Our OL had nobodies backing them up. I think the one thing it pointed out was you need depth. People can bash guys like Gay, Spaeth, etc, but the truth is they represent solid depth. Sure, Gay is not a 16 game starter, but he can come in and play better than Josh Victorian. Spaeth is better than Pope. He may not be able to catch, but he can block. Pope did neither.

The Steelers really need to back fill depth. I think veteran depth is what was needed. Better the devil you know (Spaeth) than another devil you do not know (Pope). I mean, crap, do we want another Sean Mahan or Donnell Woolford type signing?

[Spike]

I want a top 5 rated RB and WR from this draft with some big play ability, period.


We need more young stud playmakers on offense that can come in and produce right away.

[Shoes]

We're due for a good draft....I don't follow college football much, but after hanging out at the *Draft Central*..... it seems like we can pick up some really good players. Hat's off to LLT, Tex, Dwins and Aussie for the input.

[Psycho Ward 86]

We're due for a good draft....

why do you keep saying that? were due for a good draft no more than we usually are or arent. thats just wishful thinking after so many not so impressive drafts in a row

[Mojouw]

So we're going to have this debate, again, in yet another thread?

[Count Steeler]

To the subject of the OP, I don't think they can solve the free agency departures. If Harrison resigns, or a draftee cracks our starting line up, we may still have a respectable year on defense. If Sanders does go to NE, than we have 2 holes to fill at WR, another hole at RB, and added depth on the O Line.

That is already 5 picks that have to hit. We need some help in the secondary again with the departure of Lewis and Mundy, not that Mundy was a starter, but we need players.

[steeldawg]

To the subject of the OP, I don't think they can solve the free agency departures. If Harrison resigns, or a draftee cracks our starting line up, we may still have a respectable year on defense. If Sanders does go to NE, than we have 2 holes to fill at WR, another hole at RB, and added depth on the O Line.

That is already 5 picks that have to hit. We need some help in the secondary again with the departure of Lewis and Mundy, not that Mundy was a starter, but we need players.

Lets not forget either that troy, clark, and taylor are nearing the end so unless we are planning to draft 2 safeties and a corner next season that are ready to start that is 3 needs that we have to address in this draft.

[Shoes]

why do you keep saying that? were due for a good draft no more than we usually are or arent. thats just wishful thinking after so many not so impressive drafts in a row

Well maybe, just maybe the embarrassment of last season, past drafts and the spotlight will cause a little more study and a whole lot of hard work. That normally produces better results in most things in life.....nothing wishful about that.

[TMC]

The upside of having huge holes or mediocre talent is your rookies play sooner. I know someone will point to William Gay starting, but when they ran Keenan Lewis in 2 years ago, he was not better. Same with Foote. Same with the other guys.

The guys that can truly play, like DeCastro, Pouncey, Miller, Allen, and the like seemed to find playing time pretty quickly. If a player is good enough, he will force a coaching staff to play him. Woodley was used as a situational pass rusher.

And, I do not know if we have to "hit" a bunch of draft picks. Teams win the Super Bowl all the time with mediocre units on a team. The Steelers won with average WRs. Burress, Cotchery, Brown, possibly Sanders....they may be good enough. McClendon, Ta'amu, and Fangupo may hold down the NT spot. Foote is back at ILB although I am hoping for better. Allen could be better than Lewis. Van Dyke and Justin King could develop. Who knows if Worilds is ready. He has played just under 1000 career snaps and has 60 tackles and @10 sacks. Most starters play about that many snaps a year. Shit, he could be there.

I think if they find 1-2 rookies that hit the ground running, they will be solid. Find more, it just makes you better. I would rather have 3-4 guys that turn into long-term solutions that do not play as rookies than a dozen that do like Troy Edwards where he is basically one and done.

[Count Steeler]

The upside of having huge holes or mediocre talent is your rookies play sooner. I know someone will point to William Gay starting, but when they ran Keenan Lewis in 2 years ago, he was not better. Same with Foote. Same with the other guys.

The guys that can truly play, like DeCastro, Pouncey, Miller, Allen, and the like seemed to find playing time pretty quickly. If a player is good enough, he will force a coaching staff to play him. Woodley was used as a situational pass rusher.

And, I do not know if we have to "hit" a bunch of draft picks. Teams win the Super Bowl all the time with mediocre units on a team. The Steelers won with average WRs. Burress, Cotchery, Brown, possibly Sanders....they may be good enough. McClendon, Ta'amu, and Fangupo may hold down the NT spot. Foote is back at ILB although I am hoping for better. Allen could be better than Lewis. Van Dyke and Justin King could develop. Who knows if Worilds is ready. He has played just under 1000 career snaps and has 60 tackles and @10 sacks. Most starters play about that many snaps a year. Shit, he could be there.

I think if they find 1-2 rookies that hit the ground running, they will be solid. Find more, it just makes you better. I would rather have 3-4 guys that turn into long-term solutions that do not play as rookies than a dozen that do like Troy Edwards where he is basically one and done.

Nothing to disagree with, but, lots of ifs.

[st33lersguy]

There are a few problems, some of which may be completely obvious. The Steelers right now are suffering from a bad combination of their core players that won the Super Bowls getting older, more injury prone, and declining and drafting that has led to a string of players that stink or departed via free agency. Another problem that I saw last year (which is easier to fix and something some of you will disagree with) is Coach Tomlin's bad habit of not benching underperforming starters or at least calling out players to perform (and I am only talking about a game or two or until the starter shows something in practice just to send a message). Too many times, I saw guys like Wallace and Woodley underperform and Tomlin didn't seem to take the necessary steps to get them to perform at a better level

[Mojouw]

To the subject of the OP, I don't think they can solve the free agency departures. If Harrison resigns, or a draftee cracks our starting line up, we may still have a respectable year on defense. If Sanders does go to NE, than we have 2 holes to fill at WR, another hole at RB, and added depth on the O Line.

That is already 5 picks that have to hit. We need some help in the secondary again with the departure of Lewis and Mundy, not that Mundy was a starter, but we need players.

Good identification of the needs/roster holes. One could reasonablely add ILB and we know that the Steelers will almost always take a DE/OLB in the draft. It quickly becomes more needs than picks. I figure at some point they are going to do something with this cap space. Not much point in not using it. Perhaps now that the market is cooling, we see some vets or former back-up types signed on the cheap. With that in mind I looked at a FA list and here are some guys that are interesting and may be actually available in the Steelers price range:

Butler OLB i likely wants to much money, but worth taking a run at
Ramses Barden WR - discussed by others in another thread
Titus Young WR - can't cost much since his crazy almost has him out of the NFL
Travis Beckum TE - injuries have likely driven down his cost to around the minimum. When healthy has demostrated he can catch passes in the NFL. Can't block a lick though.
Jeff Otah OT - intriguing rehab project. Again, if the price is right, why not?
James Harrison OLB - until DUmervil signs, no one is going to pay Harrison. After Dumervil signs, no one may still pay him.
Brent Grimes CB - great CB prior to knee injury. Snag him on an incentive laden deal, the big $$ has already been handed out at the CB position and he is on the outside looking in.
Stanford Rout CB - Steelers sniffed around last year.
a bunch of vets on the list of safeties that are going to work to drive down the market

Not saying any of this will or even should happen. Just arguing that there is always a 2nd and 3rd wave of FA signings where the dollars come way down and teams can snag guys on the cheap. Fill a few holes that way and the draft becomes less need based and more BPA?