OT: Pittsburgher Thread: The standard is the standard. No changes.

[ColePens]

Already nervous...

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[Jaded-Fan]

From the Sporting News a couple of hours ago:

Vinnie Iyer: The Patriots have been very good at running the ball, especially in scoring position, with former Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount. The Steelers, however, are riding the best feature back in the league, Le'Veon Bell.

New England was able to keep Bell in check during the regular season meeting, as he had to make up for his quiet rushing day with a big receiving effort. It helped that, with Landry Jones needing to fill in for an injured Roethlisberger, the Patriots could focus on stopping the run first.

Still, Bell and Antonio Brown got their yards and made the Patriots sweat until they could pull away in the fourth quarter, out of reach from a Landry-led comeback. For the Steelers to steal the rematch, they need Roethlisberger to be a lot more efficient wire to wire than in his first two playoff games.

IYER: Brown video might help Steelers

Look for the Steelers to have success moving the ball, both powering through and setting up a few long passes for Big Ben. They are hoping for a little more from James Harrison and the defense — consistent pressure and a takeaway or two — to keep Brady from keeping up. Brady will pick apart the Steelers' young secondary for the most part, but the hits and the pass rush against him will be the difference in a second consecutive AFC championship game.

The Steelers were SN's preseason choice to win Super Bowl LI with the assumption they would pull off an upset like this on the way there. With the prediction in sight, there's no turning back now.

Steelers, 27-24.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/new...c-championship-game/ooen9bn0l46a1qsokhrl0lw5c

They did have another guy pick the Patriots, but only by five points. This is going to be a much closer game than most think. Most seem to be believing the Pats blowout theory.

A nice video titled 'Steelers go into buildings and tear out team's souls' is embedded in the article which also should give you some confidence.

The long and short of it is that in a close game would you bet against a team with Brown and especially with Bell? That running game should keep Brady to about two thirds of his usual plays.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I'm going with Pittsburgh and Green Bay again this week. Rematch.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

One more thought.

When were the Steelers last in the playoffs as healthy as they are currently?

And the scary thing is that the Steelers should be even more dangerous next year as more weapons come back, they lose little, and have tens of millions in cap space to add to the team.

 

[Asuna]

I'm going with Pittsburgh and Green Bay again this week. Rematch.

that would be unfortunate

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

that would be unfortunate

Why? I know GB is hot right now but they'd have a better chance against them then the Falcons . If Falcons get there...I can see this being their year. Beating us or the Pats.

We'd need Bryant to compete with them.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

One more thought.

When were the Steelers last in the playoffs as healthy as they are currently?

And the scary thing is that the Steelers should be even more dangerous next year as more weapons come back, they lose little, and have tens of millions in cap space to add to the team.

We are still missing key players. We just happen to have a lot of talent to compensate for it but this team with Bryant and Heyward would be unstoppable. Not to mention Wheaton(really beleve he would have broke out this year) and Green.

We are where we are because of this past draft IMO . We wouldn't have survived thru these injuries if we didn't have Hargrave(makes losing Heyward less of a blow) , Davis , and Burns.

 

[Winger for Hire]

And the scary thing is that the Steelers should be even more dangerous next year as more weapons come back, they lose little, and have tens of millions in cap space to add to the team.

When was the last time the Steelers had actual real cap room to add to the team? It seems like forever.

And on a similar note... the Browns have a projected $107.8mil ( ) in cap space going into the offseason to go along with 2 first and second round picks. Imagine if they were a half decent run franchise with that kind of ammo.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

We have cap room but Bell is making a little over 1 mil right now. So add about 15 mil to that. Brown is making 8 mil. Add another 8. That's around 23 mil off the cap room right there. Still leaving us with 20 more. But we have more guys to re-sign the following year. Bryant, Tuitt, Shazier....they are all getting raises. One good thing about Bryant's suspension is we are going to be able to get him locked up much cheaper than if he would have played this season.

Biggest decision we have to make is Timmons. That's 15 mil coming off the books. He's still valuable. Does he decide to go elsewhere for another big payday or stay here for a cheaper deal?

Edit: We will franchise Bell next season so that's 12 mil instead of 15-16.

 

[Brandinho]

Why? I know GB is hot right now but they'd have a better chance against them then the Falcons . If Falcons get there...I can see this being their year. Beating us or the Pats.

We'd need Bryant to compete with them.

I tend to agree with this, especially with Nelson's injury. Even if he can play, he won't be 100%. Aaron Rodgers is great, but I really don't want to watch a rookie match up with Julio Jones. I love Artie, but that could get ugly fast.

 

[Coastal Kev]

When was the last time the Steelers had actual real cap room to add to the team? It seems like forever.

And on a similar note... the Browns have a projected $107.8mil ( ) in cap space going into the offseason to go along with 2 first and second round picks. Imagine if they were a half decent run franchise with that kind of ammo.

It's actually not a great thing to have all of that cap space when there is a cap floor.

They're going to have to spend a lot of money and that could cause big issues down the road.

 

[DanielPlainview]

I let Timmons walk to re-sign and extend Bell and Brown every day and twice on Sunday.

 

[KIRK]

We have cap room but Bell is making a little over 1 mil right now. So add about 15 mil to that. Brown is making 8 mil. Add another 8. That's around 23 mil off the cap room right there. Still leaving us with 20 more. But we have more guys to re-sign the following year. Bryant, Tuitt, Shazier....they are all getting raises. One good thing about Bryant's suspension is we are going to be able to get him locked up much cheaper than if he would have played this season.

Biggest decision we have to make is Timmons. That's 15 mil coming off the books. He's still valuable. Does he decide to go elsewhere for another big payday or stay here for a cheaper deal?

Edit: We will franchise Bell next season so that's 12 mil instead of 15-16.

One spot I really wish they'd address would be an impact CB, but that's not their style and the pickings look like they'll be pretty slim.

I've always felt that if there's a CB you can put on an island, then it just opens up so much in terms of what Butler can call.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

It's actually not a great thing to have all of that cap space when there is a cap floor.

They're going to have to spend a lot of money and that could cause big issues down the road.

Only if they're dumb about it. NFL salaries aren't guaranteed, so you can tack on huge salaries to lure a guy in and they only cause problems if you keep the guy and he doesn't perform.

Teams keep guys who don't perform because of signing bonuses, but signing bonuses are the things that cause cap problems, because they are guaranteed, and they count against the cap in multiple years.

However, signing bonuses are not the only kind of bonuses. There are also roster bonuses, which are counted against the salary cap only and entirely within the year that they are paid in. A big roster bonus on the date the contract is signed would give players the big payday up front that they like, and get the Browns to the salary floor, without putting them in a long-term bind.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

One spot I really wish they'd address would be an impact CB, but that's not their style and the pickings look like they'll be pretty slim.

I've always felt that if there's a CB you can put on an island, then it just opens up so much in terms of what Butler can call.

This is actually a pretty deep class at CB. I still think Golson can be an impact player but have no problem taking another corner.

As good as Burns is , if we can find someone who is even better...we are set.

 

[KIRK]

This is actually a pretty deep class at CB. I still think Golson can be an impact player but have no problem taking another corner.

As good as Burns is , if we can find someone who is even better...we are set.

I was thinking FA, but if the draft is that deep, then yeah, make it a priority. Better still, look to work a trade up. I know they rarely do it, but I remember when they did it for Polamalu. It would make a big difference to get that right guy.

 

[Brandinho]

One spot I really wish they'd address would be an impact CB, but that's not their style and the pickings look like they'll be pretty slim.

I've always felt that if there's a CB you can put on an island, then it just opens up so much in terms of what Butler can call.

The problem is that CBs you can put on an island are cost-prohibitive when it comes to free agency. I think it's a better use of resources to trade up for Jalen Ramsey than it is to sign Josh Norman, just as an example.

 

[KIRK]

The problem is that CBs you can put on an island are cost-prohibitive when it comes to free agency. I think it's a better use of resources to trade up for Jalen Ramsey than it is to sign Josh Norman, just as an example.

And I would be all for a move like that (or as I said a move like the Steelers made years ago to get Polamalu).

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

The guy I'd trade up for is Jamal Adams Safety LSU. Compared to Polamalu. Problem is he will probably go top 5 at this point.

But there's a lot of other good Dbs in this draft. Most I've ever seen. Guys that will go late in the first round who would be top 15 picks in previous years.

Deep at DB and pass rushers. I'd be fine taking either position in the first and the other in the 2nd.

 

[KIRK]

The guy I'd trade up for is Jamal Adams Safety LSU. Compared to Polamalu. Problem is he will probably go top 5 at this point.

But there's a lot of other good Dbs in this draft. Most I've ever seen. Guys that will go late in the first round who would be top 15 picks in previous years.

Deep at DB and pass rushers. I'd be fine taking either position in the first and the other in the 2nd.

I haven't really looked at names, but that kind of depth may help with a trade up if there's a guy the Steelers especially love. I wouldn't settle because someone will be there. Make the best possible move up to get the best possible DB. Everything else is set, and the cap space is there to work at the margins, so if there's a year to move up to get the best possible DB, then this is it.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I haven't really looked at names, but that kind of depth may help with a trade up if there's a guy the Steelers especially love. I wouldn't settle because someone will be there. Make the best possible move up to get the best possible DB. Everything else is set, and the cap space is there to work at the margins, so if there's a year to move up to get the best possible DB, then this is it.

This is also the first year you can use comp picks in trades(we are getting a 5th). So yeah if there's a year to do it..this would be it.

 

[KIRK]

This is also the first year you can use comp picks in trades(we are getting a 5th). So yeah if there's a year to do it..this would be it.

Steelers traded a 1st (#28), 3rd, and 6th to move from #27 to #16.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

ESPN: All three pick the Steelers.



And then they compare Brady and Rothlisberger:

 

[mgd525]

The Steven A Smith comment really made me laugh. Big Ben is 6'5 why the hell are your passes getting tipped at the line of scrimmage. I would feel really good about this match up if we had MB but we don't.... I think this is a game the Steelers can take but Tomlin and Big Ben are for sure the 2nd best coach and QB in this game. That isn't a good situation. Bell is going to have to take this game over to win. I think Bell can do that if he is put in the right position. FFS Tomlin put Williams in from time to time to let Bell catch his breath.

 

[OnMyOwn]

I think we live and die with our defense in this one, tbh. If we get no pressure and Brady dinks and dunks against our soft zone and the **** show at corner that is cockrell, we'll lose and it won't be close.