OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: The Bubble Bunch

[Solution]

BREAKING NEWS: Steelers owner Art Rooney II on suicide watch after watching Broncos-Cowboys game.

And so he should be for not dumping Ben and signing Peyton prior to last season. That would have improved the team.

 

[Shockmaster]

And so he should be for not dumping Ben and signing Peyton prior to last season. That would have improved the team.

Nah, Peyton would be forced to hand off to Redman just like Ben has. He would only be used to bail the team out when they're down. I don't see why any top tier QB would want to play for the Steelers considering how crappy they treat them.

 

[BigBenSF*]

And so he should be for not dumping Ben and signing Peyton prior to last season. That would have improved the team.

Oh come on. What if we traded Ben and Manning still chose to sign with Denver?

 

[Captain Hook]

And so he should be for not dumping Ben and signing Peyton prior to last season. That would have improved the team.

That wasn't a realistic option. The cap penalties for releasing or trading Roethlisberger would have been huge because of his ginormous contract and then you'd need a ton of other cap space for Peyton Manning's 5 year 96 million dollar deal. No way to fit all that in under the cap and field a solid enough supporting cast around the QB.

Oh come on. What if we traded Ben and Manning still chose to sign with Denver?

Exactly. You also risk alienating your QB by flirting with another starting QB like Denver did with Jay Cutler, which is why he demanded a trade out of town.

And why would they have been looking to make a move anyway? He was past the off-field drama by that point. He had just led the team to a 12-4 record. He led the team to his 3rd Super Bowl appearance the year before that. There was no reason to be taking a flyer on Peyton Manning and his bad neck. I'm thrilled Peyton has made it all the way back and is playing better than ever but it was no guarantee he would ever get back to this point.

 

[Captain Hook]

Denver's offense is ridiculous. Denver scored 51 points against Dallas. Jacksonville has scored 51 points all season.

The Steelers have only scored 69 points this year and two of those points were a gift safety against the Titans. They have been better offensively the past couple games though.

 

[Captain Hook]

Matt Schaub set an NFL record yesterday by throwing a pick 6 in 4 straight games.

You can even get a special "pick six burger" at a Houston restaurant.

 

[Shockmaster]

That wasn't a realistic option. The cap penalties for releasing or trading Roethlisberger would have been huge because of his ginormous contract and then you'd need a ton of other cap space for Peyton Manning's 5 year 96 million dollar deal. No way to fit all that in under the cap and field a solid enough supporting cast around the QB.


Exactly. You also risk alienating your QB by flirting with another starting QB like Denver did with Jay Cutler, which is why he demanded a trade out of town.

And why would they have been looking to make a move anyway? He was past the off-field drama by that point. He had just led the team to a 12-4 record. He led the team to his 3rd Super Bowl appearance the year before that. There was no reason to be taking a flyer on Peyton Manning and his bad neck. I'm thrilled Peyton has made it all the way back and is playing better than ever but it was no guarantee he would ever get back to this point.

Yinzer nation knows how to hold a grudge against a franchise QB for too long. Hell, some of them are still pissed about Ben's 5 INT game in Oakland in 2006.

 

[Captain Hook]

The Steelers latest depth chart lists Cam Heyward as the starter at left DE over Ziggy Hood. We'll have to see if they stick with that when the games actually start. Heyward has played very well in sub packages this season.

 

[ColePens]

I'm a little disappointed in Hood. When we drafted him, I was extremely fired up for his motor and work ethic. He is not that good

 

[Captain Hook]

I'm a little disappointed in Hood. When we drafted him, I was extremely fired up for his motor and work ethic. He is not that good

I just don't think he fits the 3-4 defense. Really nothing he can do about that. The kid works his ass off.

 

[Captain Hook]

Also, the conditional pick in the Levi Brown deal is not 2014. Still no word on what year or round it will be or what the specific conditions are.

The official deal was

To Arizona: A conditional pick (not 2014)

To Pittsburgh: Levi Brown and a conditional pick (not 2014).

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I just don't think he fits the 3-4 defense. Really nothing he can do about that. The kid works his ass off.

Yep, it's a shame because he's definitely not a case of 'what could have been if he only cared', it's a case of 'good player, wrong scheme fit'.

I still don't think he's half as bad as Steeler fans make him out to be, but considering we're used to drafting All-Pros in the first round that was to be expected.

 

[Captain Hook]

Yep, it's a shame because he's definitely not a case of 'what could have been if he only cared', it's a case of 'good player, wrong scheme fit'.

I still don't think he's half as bad as Steeler fans make him out to be, but considering we're used to drafting All-Pros in the first round that was to be expected.

Agreed.

Tomlin just confirmed Heyward will be the starter in his presser.

 

[Bennett Brauer]

I think the Steelers will change to a 4-3 defense when LeBeau retires (and hopefully Keith Butler replaces him).

 

[Shockmaster]

I think the Steelers will change to a 4-3 defense when LeBeau retires (and hopefully Keith Butler replaces him).

I think a house cleaning is in order after this season. Don't care if Butler was promised something before the Steelers sucked, they need different people with a fresh perspective in there.

Ed Snider wouldn't want to hear that if he were in charge of the Steelers.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Butler has the job, like it or not...as he should.

A "fresh perspective" is nice and good, but not when the most qualified person for the job is already in the organization. Hiring an inferior individual just because he wasn't Dick LeBeau's protege is something I can't even fathom.

I don't think we're long for the 3-4, either.

 

[Shockmaster]

Butler has the job, like it or not...as he should.

A "fresh perspective" is nice and good, but not when the most qualified person for the job is already in the organization. Hiring an inferior individual just because he wasn't Dick LeBeau's protege is something I can't even fathom.

I don't think we're long for the 3-4, either.

How would you know a new DC from the outside is inferior? Because he isn't indoctrinated in outdated Stiller football? That makes an outsider look even more appealing. When you suck as bad as the Steelers do, why should you expect any better the next year bringing back the same coaches?

And the reason the Steelers have held onto Butler for so long is because he's a 3-4 guy. If they switch to a 4-3, that's even more of a reason to find an outsider as DC.

 

[djt153]

Butler has the job, like it or not...as he should.

A "fresh perspective" is nice and good, but not when the most qualified person for the job is already in the organization. Hiring an inferior individual just because he wasn't Dick LeBeau's protege is something I can't even fathom.

I don't think we're long for the 3-4, either.

the 3-4 vs 4-3 debate is conceptually very interesting. are the steelers a 3-4 team because they inherently believe it to be the better way of playing defense or are they a 3-4 team because at one time there was a market inefficiency that allowed a 3-4 team to get better personnel by converting some tweeners? it does seem that it would be easier for the steelers to convert to a 4-3 team now than at any point since the early 90s

 

[Captain Hook]

Jay Glazer ‏@JayGlazer 53m

Breaking: Falcons fear Julio Jones likely OUT for the rest of the year w a foot injury. He's getting a second opinion tomorrow to determine

Falcons are 1-4. It's been an awful season for them so far too.

 

[SteelFish87*]

I think the Steelers will change to a 4-3 defense when LeBeau retires (and hopefully Keith Butler replaces him).

hopefully they draft Clowney and are forced to switch to a 4-3.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

hopefully they draft Clowney and are forced to switch to a 4-3.

Doubt that they draft him. He seems to have attitude issues. Didn't his coach question his actually having an injury when he sat their last game? Those kind of things usually keep teams like the Steelers away.

 

[Captain Hook]

Clowney is in a tough spot. He wasn't eligible for the draft last year so he had to comeback to college but he obviously doesn't want to get hurt and screw up getting millions of dollars. He saw that happen to his teammate Marcus Lattimore. That guy would have likely been a 1st rounder but he got injured and fell to the 4th round.

It would be interesting if the Steelers picked him and did switch to a 4-3. I've always felt Timmons would be even better in a 4-3. Ziggy would be too but he's UFA after the season. I'm sure Woodley would love playing in a 4-3 since he wouldn't have to do all the dropping in coverage that he does now. Even Jarvis Jones said before the draft that he'd prefer to play in a 4-3 defense in the NFL.

 

[Bennett Brauer]

The Steelers probably won't be in a position to draft Clowney, I don't see this team having a top 3 pick.

If we switched to a 4-3 we really wouldn't need Clowney anyways IMO.

Heyward-McLendon-Hood (re-sign)-Keisel

Woodley-Timmons-Jones

Works for me. We would need an eventual replacement for Keisel, but as long as he's still playing, our D line is set, again IMO.

 

[Captain Hook]

I've always felt Timmons would make a great Will LB in a 4-3. Some teams considered Jarvis Jones to be a fit as a Sam LB in a 4-3. I think Woodley could be a decent 4-3 DE and they have a few guys in Hood, McClendon, Heyward that could be decent at 4-3 DT. Just not sure they have the speed rusher type of DE or the right MLB to play that defense.

You also have to wonder about Todd Haley's future here. Trouble just seems to follow him. He had some incident in a bar a while back, the rumored pictures of his wife that leaked and now he's being sued for trashing a house. I can't imagine the Steelers are happy with all the bad press the guy's getting.

 

[Shockmaster]

I've always felt Timmons would make a great Will LB in a 4-3. Some teams considered Jarvis Jones to be a fit as a Sam LB in a 4-3. I think Woodley could be a decent 4-3 DE and they have a few guys in Hood, McClendon, Heyward that could be decent at 4-3 DT. Just not sure they have the speed rusher type of DE or the right MLB to play that defense.

You also have to wonder about Todd Haley's future here. Trouble just seems to follow him. He had some incident in a bar a while back, the rumored pictures of his wife that leaked and now he's being sued for trashing a house. I can't imagine the Steelers are happy with all the bad press the guy's getting.

Nah, because then the Steelers would have to admit hiring Haley in the first place was wrong. Right now, even if the Steelers don't realize it, they're putting being right ahead of winning.