We have signed wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey to a one-year contract.
We have signed wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey to a one-year contract.
Looks like Bouchette's gut-feeling is right.
I don't hate it because I know he's not intended to be a #1 or #2 WR. And because the Raiders drafted him we won't feel the pressure to force the issue.
Having him reminds me a lot of having Dwight Stone.
Dwight " Hands of " StoneOriginally Posted by Steelerette
Darrius " slippery fingers " Heyward Bey
1 common thing beyond speed ... unreliable hands
If his hands were going to improve it would have happened by now, it was a problem for him in college too.
But I think what we can hope for is some production on special teams, kick returns. And maybe we run some looks where he does contribute limited offensive production.
Even if I'm not impressed with his potential to catch balls I like it, because these signings say to me that the Steelers:
1) Recognize there were problems
2) Went out to fix them.
Maybe Bey doesn't even make the final roster out of camp. But they're sure going into camp with a lot of competition now, which is more than you could say before, and hopefully something emerges at the bottom of our WR corps.
Brown, Wheaton, Moore, Draft Pick... there will only be one more space that has to be contended for by Justin, Bey, Collins, Moye, and late rounder/udfa. Decent situation.
probably the plan from the onset , create a competitive environment and let the cream rise to the top all while not going into the draft with glaring " needs "
Other than Stone being an UDFA and DHB being a #1 pick, Stone entering the league as a RB, and DHB a WR, and Stone being used almost exclusively as a special-teamer and DHB not, the comparison is spot on.
In related news, the Steelers are now four cents under the salary cap
As a #3 or #4 receiver, he might not be bad, and could bring something different to the table. I almost feel bad for the guy - his name is toxic in FA discussions because he's a "Gigantic Draft Bust," but really, Senile Al put a ton of unrealistic expectations on him, and he should never have been drafted that high in the first place. Since we're not a) expecting him to be a #1 receiver with 10 catches and 1,500 yards, or b) paying him correspondingly, it might work out for us.
One thing that is not so good - if we're making this kind of signing, what does it say about our confidence in Wheaton? Perhaps we're thinking he's a bit more of a project than it originally seemed.
Something I do like no matter what, though - they said they were going to shake up the roster this offseason, and they certainly did. We lost a lot of dead weight; now let's see if we found anyone better.
See you Space Cowboy ...
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I'm hoping Wheaton does a 180 this year. It is odd, Ben praised him all training camp, saying he was very smart and only needed to be told once and he got it. Hopefully he's not made of glass, I believe he had another finger cut on a few weeks ago. Let's hope he excels this season.
How much did they sign that Limas clone for? Are they now over the cap?
Not a chance they signed him for more than $400K...right? Don't like him as a player at all.
Enthroned Into The Good Old Boys Club - 2024
Fastest WR in the 2009 draft that included Mike Wallace , hard to fathom Wallace had the better hands and feel like I lost 10 points off my IQ for saying it ...... but its true
Funny, but the first thing I thought was...... Very fast, runs well after the catch, will drop a ball to often. Looks like we finally found a replacement for Wallace.
AML
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And we don't have to pay him to jump for the ball...
Or fight for a catch. I'd say we did better than Miami.
AML
Now the Steelers have signed the top 2 draft picks of the Raiders 2009 draft class that was panned by pretty much everyone following football at the time, granted I like one signing a lot better than the other
Somewhere there is a pundit praising the signing by saying DHB "can take the top off the coverage," or a similarly inane comment.
I haven't seen contract details yet but it has to have been mega cheap considering the cap position we were already in.
He should have never been a first rounder, but don't let his "bust" status get in the way of considering:
-very cheap camp body who, if he even makes the team, can contribute on special teams and wide sets
Pretty good signing in that light.
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I don't love this signing, but if Colbert is just covering bases before the draft then I understand it. It's only a one-year deal.
I really thought we had double-dip potential at WR, ala Sanders/Brown, in the draft with how deep the class is this year. But maybe not, or the FO thinks Wheaton and others will step up.
I actually see a ton of potential in Jasper Collins and would love to see him make the team as our final WR.
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Semi-decent depth signing, imo.
Can he return kicks and punts as a 5th WR? If so I'm okay with the signing. But if the Steelers actually think he should be an important piece in the offense and try to use him over a WR they would take in the early rounds of the draft, then I have a big problem with the signing.
My hope is they don't take a WR in the early rounds of the draft. We've let important parts of our defense go for way too long. We got a temporary solution to some of that in FA, but we still need to do something for the long term.
See you Space Cowboy ...
When is the last time a rookie came into a LeBeau defense and dominated right away? Those early round picks need to be able to come in and play right away for the Steelers, and WR is a need. When the Steelers defense was at it most dominate from 2004-2010, a lot of those guys were players the Steelers found in the later rounds of the draft. Same with the current Seahawks defense. You don't build a defense solely on first and second round picks.
You also don't build a solid defense by always putting it off until next year, and hoping your fifth-round picks all pan out. Seattle was very, very lucky to have everything come together at once the way it did. Hell, while we're on that subject, when's the last time an undersized "running" QB drafted in the third round came in and won a Super Bowl right away?
On offense, we are for the most part set, and we spend high draft picks copiously there. Other than Foster and Brown, every starter on offense was a first- or second-round selection. Brown doesn't need replacing, and I doubt we want to spend the 15th overall pick on a #2 wide receiver. On the other hand, we haven't seriously tried to get a nose tackle in about 15 years, and the last time we gave the CB position more than a what-the-hell look was in 2004.
As mentioned above, this is a great year to draft defensive players, because we have the temporary solutions. But unless you want to go into 2016 with Ike Taylor starting at CB, no successor to Troy, and still trying to fake a nose-tackle-by-committee with a bunch of below-average walk-ons, then I'd suggest we address those things now. Unless you're somehow under the impression that we're going to win the Super Bowl this season, and the only missing piece is a rookie #2 receiver. Then yes, by all means, let's go wild.
See you Space Cowboy ...
When those mid-round players were picked and "hit" - there was an undervaluation of 3-4 NT's, DE's, and OLB's in the draft. The number of teams playing the 3-4 or multiple fronts has risen considerably since the late 90's and early 2000's. Edge players (DE's and OLDB's) are now costing a premium price in the draft. Heck, Timmons and Woodley were 1st and 2nd rounders. Gone are the days of getting a Gildon or Porter or Aaron Smith on the 3rd day.
Seattles' defense has a great # of high round draft picks on it. Such As:
Avril - 3rd round
Mebane - 3rd round
Wagner- 2nd round
Irvin - 1st round (15th overall)
Thomas - 1st round (14th overall)
So other than Bennett (UDFA), Sherman (5th round), and Chancellor (5th round) the other major parts of Seattle's defense was built with picks in rounds 1-3. Not exactly cobbling it together with low draft picks. I get that it the Seahawks are helped immensely by Sherman being a human eraser out of the 5th round. But the Steelers of 2004-10 were a similar mix of unexpected gems and high rounders.
For all the pub those low round LB's and DE finds get, Troy, Timmons, Woodley, Hampton, and Farrior were all round 1 or 2 picks.
No one is saying that only 1st and 2nd round picks can be the basis for the entire defense, but certainly almost any given roster with an elite defense demonstrates they are the core.
The idea that only picks from round 3-7 are needed to put together the back-bone of a SB defense is laughable.
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He's six foot two with speed. It may not be Ben's "tall receiver" but he's basically Mike Wallace + height. Sure, his hands are about five percent worse than Wallace's (targets vs. passes caught over the last three years), but he has a little better speed and again, a little more height.
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So everyone says he is fast and can't catch but the real question is, can he jump?
Ralph Mancini @ReverendRalph 16m @Dwinsgames DHB was the worst WR in football last yr. Dropped 50% of passes thrown to him & he hears footsteps when a defender is closing in
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