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Thread: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

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    Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Clearing the deck to tag Bell?

    The Pittsburgh Steelers have reworked the deals of two of their best players in All-Pro guard David DeCastro and standout defensive end Stephon Tuitt in an effort that cleared $13.26 million of cap space in 2018, according to a league source.

    Each player agreed to earn the minimum base salary for a player of their tenure in 2018 ($790,000), converting the rest of their base salary into a signing bonus, while also eliminating their roster bonuses that were due soon and converting those into a signing bonus.

    http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...cap-space-2018


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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Fortunately neither of those guys seems like the kind of player we'll want to get rid of before the end of his contract ... we may have a real cap crisis around 2021 or so, but then again, we may have a QB and RB on a rookie contract. Better win now!
    See you Space Cowboy ...

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by steelreserve View Post
    Fortunately neither of those guys seems like the kind of player we'll want to get rid of before the end of his contract ... we may have a real cap crisis around 2021 or so, but then again, we may have a QB and RB on a rookie contract. Better win now!

    No doubt. If ever there was a time to play some financial shell games in an effort to win....it's now while Ben is here.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Once BB retires, we’ll have a ton of cap space (which is when DeCastro & Tuitt will recoup this money).

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts


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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by teegre View Post
    Once BB retires, we’ll have a ton of cap space (which is when DeCastro & Tuitt will recoup this money).
    Recoup what? It doesn't look to me like they're losing any money. It was just moved to a signing bonus, which is actually better for them because they get that up front.
    I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play!- Jack Lambert

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by SteelerFanInStl View Post
    Recoup what? It doesn't look to me like they're losing any money. It was just moved to a signing bonus, which is actually better for them because they get that up front.
    Yeah, they just got their entire season's pay up front, is all. More like we'll have to eat the cap hit at some point for kicking the can down the road, and when Ben retires is probably when we'll do that.
    See you Space Cowboy ...

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Hopefully they'll step up a notch or two also. Tired of them becoming invisible during games.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by Moose View Post
    Hopefully they'll step up a notch or two also. Tired of them becoming invisible during games.

    ???

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by Moose View Post
    Hopefully they'll step up a notch or two also. Tired of them becoming invisible during games.
    Top 101 players from the 2017 NFL season

    17. David DeCastro, G, Pittsburgh Steelers

    Pittsburgh’s David DeCastro was a first-round draft pick, so the expectations were always high and he has been a good player for a number of years, but this was the third consecutive year he improved his grade and the first time he has topped an overall PFF grade of 90.0, ending the year at 91.7 despite struggling a little against Jacksonville in the playoffs. DeCastro didn’t allow a sack all season, and was only responsible for two knockdowns and 14 additional hurries over 17 games, while continuing his dominant run-blocking baseline.
    PFF Elite Stat: Among guards, only Brandon Brooks and David DeCastro played at least 589 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack.




    https://www.profootballfocus.com/new...017-nfl-season

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by AtlantaDan View Post
    Top 101 players from the 2017 NFL season

    17. David DeCastro, G, Pittsburgh Steelers

    Pittsburgh’s David DeCastro was a first-round draft pick, so the expectations were always high and he has been a good player for a number of years, but this was the third consecutive year he improved his grade and the first time he has topped an overall PFF grade of 90.0, ending the year at 91.7 despite struggling a little against Jacksonville in the playoffs. DeCastro didn’t allow a sack all season, and was only responsible for two knockdowns and 14 additional hurries over 17 games, while continuing his dominant run-blocking baseline.
    PFF Elite Stat: Among guards, only Brandon Brooks and David DeCastro played at least 589 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack.




    https://www.profootballfocus.com/new...017-nfl-season
    Pffffftttt. What is his grit-hustle-focus quotient? Without that, he would just have to rely on his talent to overcome match-ups.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by Mojouw View Post
    Pffffftttt. What is his grit-hustle-focus quotient? Without that, he would just have to rely on his talent to overcome match-ups.

    If he had a better head coach and there was focus in that locker room, he would have had perfect scores across the board. Besides that.....there were a few games when I didn't see him run full speed to the locker room at halftime.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by pczach View Post
    If he had a better head coach and there was focus in that locker room, he would have had perfect scores across the board. Besides that.....there were a few games when I didn't see him run full speed to the locker room at halftime.
    I bet he doesn't even run the Oklahoma drill at home on the weekends. Loser.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by pczach View Post
    If he had a better head coach and there was focus in that locker room, he would have had perfect scores across the board. Besides that.....there were a few games when I didn't see him run full speed to the locker room at halftime.
    DeCastro perhaps not on board with the proposition the Steelers had no problems maintaining focus

    “They were ready to go, they were mad, they were angry, they had something to prove and they did it,” said DeCastro, who put the finger on teammates he did not name for riling up the Jaguars.

    “Yeah, it’s embarrassing. It really is, man. It just blows my mind. They beat us 30-9 [Oct. 9], we played like crap and we want to talk about New England!

    “I don’t know what to say about that. It’s just stupid. It’s just not what you do. You don’t need to give a team like that more bulletin board material.”...

    “I’m never a guy to say anything about the other team but respect them and congratulate them, which is what you should do,’’ DeCastro responded Sunday. “They’re a talented team and they proved that today.

    “It should be obvious to me. I love my teammates and care a lot about them, but that’s not something I like to see.”...

    “It’s different to talk about it the week of when you know who you’re playing, that’s disrespectful. But the whole past week kind of thing is like just worry about Jacksonville and tell them they’re great, which they are, a good defense. That’s how I like to do things, but ...

    “Just play football.”

    http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201801140212

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by AtlantaDan View Post
    DeCastro perhaps not on board with the proposition the Steelers had no problems maintaining focus

    “They were ready to go, they were mad, they were angry, they had something to prove and they did it,” said DeCastro, who put the finger on teammates he did not name for riling up the Jaguars.

    “Yeah, it’s embarrassing. It really is, man. It just blows my mind. They beat us 30-9 [Oct. 9], we played like crap and we want to talk about New England!

    “I don’t know what to say about that. It’s just stupid. It’s just not what you do. You don’t need to give a team like that more bulletin board material.”...

    “I’m never a guy to say anything about the other team but respect them and congratulate them, which is what you should do,’’ DeCastro responded Sunday. “They’re a talented team and they proved that today.

    “It should be obvious to me. I love my teammates and care a lot about them, but that’s not something I like to see.”...

    “It’s different to talk about it the week of when you know who you’re playing, that’s disrespectful. But the whole past week kind of thing is like just worry about Jacksonville and tell them they’re great, which they are, a good defense. That’s how I like to do things, but ...

    “Just play football.”

    http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201801140212
    Okay. I'll bite. I said I wouldn't but I will simply put some questions/thoughts out there:

    1. It needs acknowledged that the Steelers think this issue is important because they basically talked Mitchell out of retiring so that he could be "dude in charge of player related life stuff and locker room bullshit". So I can no longer totally dismiss the issue - despite how much I would like to.

    2. All pro athletes have been raised and incubated in the bubble of sports cliche coach-speak nonsense. Is it any wonder that they totally buy into it? So how much of this is Decastro having an actual tangible reason for a butt kicking and how much is because this is what coaches beat in to players heads after a loss?

    3. No one has been able to draw the line between the "focus" and the actual loss. Bell and Mitchell ran their mouths the most and did very little to contribute to the team losing. It was the total disappearance of the defensive line and the complete inability of the linebackers to make a single play behind the line of scrimmage. VW was clearly jacked up for the game and was the only front 7 player I remember doing work at all. Vaunted "grit and focus" guys like Heyward, Walton, and Alualu were totally negated by the Jags offensive line. The DBs did yeoman's work attempting to step into the box and stem the tide, but it wasn't enough. On offense, the QB turned the ball over but other than that, it worked pretty damn well. The Steelers lost because their DL and LB level guys made about zero plays at or behind the line of scrimmage in an entire football game. Now I guess if they just said "no comment" to every question, deleted their social media accounts, and ate nails they would've changed that? I doubt it.

    4. The SB is a perfect example of this. The Pats are taken to be the gold standard of focus and preparation. And it did not matter. Their front 7 was completely over matched by the schemes and formations the Eagles put out there. Additionally, on the other side of the ball the Pats offense moved through the Eagles defense (a successful group on the season) like a hot knife through butter by exploiting mismatches. What is my point? My point is that the Steelers LBs were isolated and exploited against the Jaguars over and over again. Why does the explanation need to be any more complicated? I mean if we can accept the Eagles are hoisting a Lombardi because they exposed and beat the Pats linebackers like a drum, why can we not accept the same conclusions regarding the Steelers?

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by Mojouw View Post
    Okay. I'll bite. I said I wouldn't but I will simply put some questions/thoughts out there:

    1. It needs acknowledged that the Steelers think this issue is important because they basically talked Mitchell out of retiring so that he could be "dude in charge of player related life stuff and locker room bullshit". So I can no longer totally dismiss the issue - despite how much I would like to.

    2. All pro athletes have been raised and incubated in the bubble of sports cliche coach-speak nonsense. Is it any wonder that they totally buy into it? So how much of this is Decastro having an actual tangible reason for a butt kicking and how much is because this is what coaches beat in to players heads after a loss?

    3. No one has been able to draw the line between the "focus" and the actual loss. Bell and Mitchell ran their mouths the most and did very little to contribute to the team losing. It was the total disappearance of the defensive line and the complete inability of the linebackers to make a single play behind the line of scrimmage. VW was clearly jacked up for the game and was the only front 7 player I remember doing work at all. Vaunted "grit and focus" guys like Heyward, Walton, and Alualu were totally negated by the Jags offensive line. The DBs did yeoman's work attempting to step into the box and stem the tide, but it wasn't enough. On offense, the QB turned the ball over but other than that, it worked pretty damn well. The Steelers lost because their DL and LB level guys made about zero plays at or behind the line of scrimmage in an entire football game. Now I guess if they just said "no comment" to every question, deleted their social media accounts, and ate nails they would've changed that? I doubt it.

    4. The SB is a perfect example of this. The Pats are taken to be the gold standard of focus and preparation. And it did not matter. Their front 7 was completely over matched by the schemes and formations the Eagles put out there. Additionally, on the other side of the ball the Pats offense moved through the Eagles defense (a successful group on the season) like a hot knife through butter by exploiting mismatches. What is my point? My point is that the Steelers LBs were isolated and exploited against the Jaguars over and over again. Why does the explanation need to be any more complicated? I mean if we can accept the Eagles are hoisting a Lombardi because they exposed and beat the Pats linebackers like a drum, why can we not accept the same conclusions regarding the Steelers?
    Of course it was not the only or primary reason the Steelers lost the game - it certainly did not help.

    Since DeCastro has not been a quote machine during his time with the Steelers and was pissed off enough to unload after the Jax loss he apparently thought it was significant enough that it was necessary to go public.

    His position appears to be time you spend going off on social media or in interviews about the potential opponent after the one you actually are playing that week not only disrespects the opponent you are playing that week
    but is time better spent getting ready for the game you have rather than the game you want ("just play football").

    In terms of proximate cause it of course is difficult to point to a particular play that resulted from the Mitchell & Bell antics - who knows what else may have upset DeCastro since he did not name names or share what else he might have thought was going on in practices or in the locker room that week.

    Because he deals with this for a living rather than as a diversion and it mattered to him enough to go off after the loss, my guess (which certainly is all I can give) is that he thought the problem was both significant and had been tolerated far too long.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by pczach View Post
    If he had a better head coach and there was focus in that locker room, he would have had perfect scores across the board. Besides that.....there were a few games when I didn't see him run full speed to the locker room at halftime.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mojouw View Post
    I bet he doesn't even run the Oklahoma drill at home on the weekends. Loser.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by AtlantaDan View Post
    Of course it was not the only or primary reason the Steelers lost the game - it certainly did not help.

    Since DeCastro has not been a quote machine during his time with the Steelers and was pissed off enough to unload after the Jax loss he apparently thought it was significant enough that it was necessary to go public.

    His position appears to be time you spend going off on social media or in interviews about the potential opponent after the one you actually are playing that week not only disrespects the opponent you are playing that week
    but is time better spent getting ready for the game you have rather than the game you want ("just play football").

    In terms of proximate cause it of course is difficult to point to a particular play that resulted from the Mitchell & Bell antics - who knows what else may have upset DeCastro since he did not name names or share what else he might have thought was going on in practices or in the locker room that week.

    Because he deals with this for a living rather than as a diversion and it mattered to him enough to go off after the loss, my guess (which certainly is all I can give) is that he thought the problem was both significant and had been tolerated far too long.
    Wish I thought any of it made a really impactful difference. It would be great if it did. It would mean this team was like 3 idiots away from being dominant. Unfortunately I think the troubles go deeper than that and they are more like 3 impact players away from dominant performances

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by Mojouw View Post
    Wish I thought any of it made a really impactful difference. It would be great if it did. It would mean this team was like 3 idiots away from being dominant. Unfortunately I think the troubles go deeper than that and they are more like 3 impact players away from dominant performances
    In terms of impact players maybe he was just tired of Mitchell not making plays all season while continuing to act out on the field and with the media rather than just STFU

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by AtlantaDan View Post
    In terms of impact players maybe he was just tired of Mitchell not making plays all season while continuing to act out on the field and with the media rather than just STFU
    Well, yeah. I think even Mike Mitchell is tired Mike Mitchell.

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    Re: Steelers Rework DeCastro & Tuitt Contracts

    Quote Originally Posted by AtlantaDan View Post
    In terms of impact players maybe he was just tired of Mitchell not making plays all season while continuing to act out on the field and with the media rather than just STFU
    We can all say these guys are professionals and should be motivated, but the reality is that the locker room is a workplace and there needs to be a positive workplace culture to have people performing at their best. Leadership IMO plays an important role in that culture and its not the leadership of the coaches, its the leadership of players. There needs to be a core of guys and it may only be 2 or 3 that set that leadership. Cant discount the value in the room of guys like Farrior, Porter, Hampton, Hartings, Clark, Ward, IMO. Then the introverts that just go out and ball the right way (Polamalu, Heath, Faneca,).

    I think the current Steelers locker room leadership is guys like Heyward, Mitchell, Pouncey, or maybe Foster. Pouncey has done some questionable things, Heyward seems like a solid leader, but might not be as vocal as other guys in the room like AB, Bell, Mitchell....so his message might be drowned out. I know people will say that Ben is a leader and I agree that by his play he is, but lets face it that he throws jabs at his colleages on his weekly show, or in the off season in a passive-aggressive way....which isn't likely the most respected.

    A player or 2 that is respected for his play and his attitude, who isn't afraid to get in somebody's face and tell them how to go about business in the Steelers way, is something missing on this team. Joe Haden should be a guy to step up, maybe Watt or Rosie Nix.

    IMO, Mitchell is a guy that is mediocre on the field and a distraction in the room, because he talks a lot of crap and doesn't back it up. If you cant be impactful on Sundays, you need to stay in your lane and STFU. I honestly think that a guy like former ILB Earl Holmes was a better team leader than most guys in the room today. Need more guys with attitudes like Dan Kreider, Sean Morey, Rosie Nix, Earl Holmes on the team instead of Mitchell and Bryant, IMO.

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